Generalized reciprocity outranks tit-for-tat as a social glue
Evidence
“Social capital is akin to what Tom Wolfe called ‘the favor bank’ in his novel The Bonfire of the Vanities,” notes economist Robert Frank. It was, however, neither a novelist nor an economist, but Yogi Berra who offered the most succinct definition of reciprocity: “If you don’t go to somebody’s funeral, they won’t come to yours.” … Sometimes, as in these cases, reciprocity is specific: I’ll do this for you if you do that for me. Even more valuable, however, is a norm of generalized reciprocity: I’ll do this for you without expecting anything specific back from you, in the confident expectation that someone else will do something for me down the road. The Golden Rule is one formulation of generalized reciprocity. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 41
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Small communities enforce generalized reciprocity rather than one-on-one exchange — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 821; Reciprocity motivations can be self-reinforcing where further interactions are plentiful; Tit-for-tat strategies make contingent cooperators prosper while defectors get excluded — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 627 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Small communities enforce generalized reciprocity rather than one-on-one exchange
#corroborates(0.85) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 821 - Tit-for-tat strategies make contingent cooperators prosper while defectors get excluded
#contradicts(0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 627 - Reciprocity motivations can be self-reinforcing where further interactions are plentiful
#expands(0.75) - Costly norm enforcement by unaffected bystanders reveals strong reciprocity.
#qualifies(0.72) — Ernst Fehr, Third-Party Punishment and Social Norms, 2