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The role of friendship in cooperation: a comparative and cross-cultural developmental approach

Objective

Diverse lines of theoretical and empirical research are converging on the notion of humans as the ‘cooperative species’. Compared to even our closest living biological relatives, chimpanzees, human cooperation is both qualitatively and quantitatively unique. Early in ontogeny, human children in cultures across the world develop a suite of psychological adaptations to establish, maintain, and repair cooperative relationships. Friendship is often seen as the prototypical cooperative relationship. While central theories of human evolution highlight the relevance of our species’ cooperative abilities, we have very little knowledge concerning the contribution of friendship to cooperation. To address this major gap in the literature on cooperation, this proposal presents a series of targeted experiments to test for the understudied role of friendship in cooperation in chimpanzees and human children. In answering this question, the present proposal marshals an innovative combination of methods from psychology, biology and anthropology, and the most auspicious conditions at Yale University and the University of Göttingen. By comparing the behavior of children and chimpanzees this proposal will isolate what aspects of friendship may be uniquely human and will theorize about the evolutionary trajectory of friendship from the time humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor. Studying the expression and role of friendship in children from 3 different cultures will contribute to our understanding of the ontogenetic development of friendship and in addition, is especially valuable as it acknowledges cultural influences on friendship allowing for a more thorough understanding of cooperative behavior and its complexities. The proposal offers powerful tests of the role of friendship in cooperation from a comparative and cross-cultural developmental perspective and will open up new avenues for the study of cooperation and the contribution of long-term cooperative relationships.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

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Coordinator

GEORG-AUGUST-UNIVERSITAT GOTTINGEN STIFTUNG OFFENTLICHEN RECHTS
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 239 860,80
Address
WILHELMSPLATZ 1
37073 Gottingen
Germany

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Region
Niedersachsen Braunschweig Göttingen
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 239 860,80

Partners (1)

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