Reciprocal Altruism - what is that?

Some behaviours benefit others, with whom we have no genes in common, at some cost to ourselves. On the surface, this is difficult for evolutionary psychology to explain since evolutionary principles relate to the processes which lead to the likelihood of an individual surviving long enough to reproduce, and so pass on their genes to the next generation. However, Trivers has argued that this kind of altruistic behaviour may indirectly promote the survival of the individual because someone whi is helped may return this favour on a future occassion, i.e. reciprocal altuism.

This behaivour leaves open the possibility of cheating, i.e. accepting help but not offering help in return. Reciprocal altruism depends on the ability to detect non-reciprocation, and so could have played a critical role in the development of theory of mind, necessary for this skill.

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