Moral conduct serves as a costly signal that pays in partner selection.
Evidence
However, being moral can go beyond mutualism and fairness and may be more profitably viewed as a display. As such, those who behave in a more moral way may be reaping rewards through being selected as desirable partners. It doesn’t have to be fair, provided they are making a strategic investment in future benefits. Consider charitable donations. These may be moral, but they have more to do with signalling (Bereczkei et al. 2007; Lyle et al. 2009) than fairness. As long as moral individuals are in demand, moral conduct can pay – which is surely a hopeful message. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 534
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to the reader’s Big God / partner-choice framing: this signalling account of moral conduct is the mechanism By which religious displays (like fumi-e trampling) destroy partner-choice credibility. — connects to: Moralistic punishment of defectors is itself a costly reputational signal. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 532; Competition for partners drives costly reputation-building cooperation. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 531; Partner selection produces genuine moral feelings, not just narrow self-interested cooperation. — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality: The…, 202 (+6 more)
- ADDENDUM: Extends ‘On Sacrifice’ thematics: moral/religious conduct as display-based investment in future benefits rather than fairness.
Related
- Competitive signalling may drive moral conduct beyond mere fairness. (similarity 0.90)
- Genuinely moral partners signal higher reliability than strategically moral ones. (similarity 0.85)
- Partner selection produces genuine moral feelings, not just narrow self-interested cooperation. (similarity 0.85)
- Morality evolved because fair partners were preferred in cooperative interactions (similarity 0.85)
- Morality may have evolved via partner choice over partner control (similarity 0.84)
- Morality evolves from individual partner-choice competition, not group selection. (similarity 0.84)
- Moralistic punishment of defectors is itself a costly reputational signal. (similarity 0.82)
- Morality evolved as a propensity for fair cost-benefit sharing among cooperators. (similarity 0.82)
- Moral gossip targets more than fairness, tracking loyalty and norm adherence too. (similarity 0.82)
- Moral behavior shifts with the market supply and demand of cooperative partners (similarity 0.82)
- Morality extends beyond fairness among strangers to relational obligations (similarity 0.81)
- Fairness evolved as a psychological device because outside market options constrain benefit distribution. (similarity 0.81)
- Fairness is not reducible to mutualistic partner choice. (similarity 0.81)
- A partner-choice account of morality predicts avoidant emotions dominate moral life (similarity 0.81)
- Moral norms differ by relationship type, not by one universal strategy. (similarity 0.80)
Broader Connections
- Competition for partners drives costly reputation-building cooperation.
#corroborates(0.90) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 531 - Competitive signalling may drive moral conduct beyond mere fairness.
#corroborates(0.90) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 526 - Morality may have evolved via partner choice over partner control
#corroborates(0.85) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 347 - Partner selection produces genuine moral feelings, not just narrow self-interested cooperation.
#expands(0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 202 - Morality evolves from individual partner-choice competition, not group selection.
#expands(0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 605 - Moral behavior shifts with the market supply and demand of cooperative partners
#expands(0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 394 - Genuinely moral partners signal higher reliability than strategically moral ones.
#expands(0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 59