creators_name: Ingram, Gordon P. D. creators_name: Piazza, Jared R. creators_name: Bering, Jesse M. creators_id: gingram02@qub.ac.uk type: bookchapter datestamp: 2008-05-11 02:45:16 lastmod: 2011-03-11 08:57:07 metadata_visibility: show title: The adaptive problem of absent third-party punishment ispublished: inpress subjects: soc-psy subjects: dev-psy subjects: evol-psy full_text_status: public keywords: Evolution of Language; Gossip; Indirect Reciprocity; Reputation; Theory of Mind abstract: Language is a uniquely human behaviour, which has presented unique adaptive problems. Prominent among these is the transmission of information that may affect an individual’s reputation. The possibility of punishment of those with a low reputation by absent third parties has created a selective pressure on human beings that is not shared by any other species. This has led to the evolution of unique cognitive structures that are capable of handling such a novel adaptive challenge. One of these, we argue, is the propositional theory of mind, which enables individuals to model, and potentially manipulate, their own reputation in the minds of other group members, by representing the beliefs that others have about the first party’s intentions and actions. Support for our theoretical model is provided by an observational study on tattling in two preschools, and an experimental study of giving under threat of gossip in a dictator game. date: 2007-11-30 date_type: submitted publication: Human characteristics: Evolutionary perspectives on the human mind refereed: TRUE referencetext: Alexander, R. D. (1987). The biology of moral systems. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Altman, J., & Peterson, N. (1988). Rights to game and rights to cash among contemporary Australian hunter-gatherers. In T. Ingold, D. Riches & J. Woodburn (Eds.), Hunters and gatherers. Vol. 2. Property, power and ideology (pp. 75–94). Oxford: Berg. Astington, J. W. (2006). 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Beliefs about beliefs: Representation and constraining function of wrong beliefs in young children's understanding of deception. Cognition, 13(1), 103-128. citation: Ingram, Mr Gordon P. D. and Piazza, Mr Jared R. and Bering, Dr Jesse M. (2007) The adaptive problem of absent third-party punishment. [Book Chapter] (In Press) document_url: http://cogprints.org/6044/1/Ingram_Piazza_Bering_Adaptive_problem_of_absent_third_party_punishment.pdf