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Perspectives from ethnography on weak and strong reciprocity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2012

Polly Wiessner
Polly Wiessner
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. wiessner@soft-link.comhttp://www.anthro.utah.edu/faculty/wiessner.html
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Abstract

To add ethnographic perspective to Guala's arguments, I suggest reasons why experimental and ethnographic evidence do not concur and highlight some difficulties in measuring whether positive and negative reciprocity are indeed costly. I suggest that institutions to reduce the costs of maintaining cooperation are not limited to complex societies.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , February 2012 , pp. 44 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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