A new study from the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany suggests that chimps are more likely to make rational economic decisions than humans.
Researchers used a variation of the ultimatum game to determine how chimps approach economic decisions. The game is played where player 1 is asked to divide an amount of something of value (say $10) between himself and player 2. Player 1 can choose to give player 2 any amount he wishes, but the player 2 has the option of refusing the offer; in this case, neither player gets anything.
It often turns out that humans will refuse a low offer to punish the other player. This is irrational behavior according to classical economics. Researchers in this study found that chimps, when playing a simplified version of the game, will accept all offers above 0, exhibiting perfectly rational behavior. Perhaps we are just too smart for our own good sometimes.
Read a full report on the study here.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Chimps More Rational Than Humans?
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2 comments:
From the article:
"Sensitivity to unfair offers and a willingness to pay a cost to punish someone contradicts economic models of pure self-interest, and they have been claimed to be unique to humans."
I'm not aware of any economists who claim that humans are purely self-interested. Models that assume pure self interest are imperfect, of course, but when used properly they are merely convenient analytical tools and not perfect predictors of human behavior. Economists since Adam Smith have recognized that GENERALLY, people behave in a self-interested fashion. And as his invisible-hand metaphor of the market-mechanism shows, this is usually a very good thing.
Thought experiment to consider:
Instead of small sums of money used in most experiments, let's say you're playing the ultimatum game for $1,000,000. You are player 2. Player 1 "unfairly" takes $900,000, leaving you with a measly $100,000. Will you turn down $100,000 to punish player 1, or take the $100,000 (perhaps while cursing player 1 in the process)? If you choose the former you're a helluva lot richer than I am.
-Matt
Touché Matt
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