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Who are “we” and why are we cooperating? Insights from social psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2020

Margaret S. Clark ,
Brian D. Earp Open the ORCID record for Brian D. Earp [Opens in a new window]  and
Molly J. Crockett Open the ORCID record for Molly J. Crockett [Opens in a new window]
Margaret S. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT06520-8306. [email protected]://clarkrelationshiplab.yale.edu/people/[email protected]://oxford.academia.edu/[email protected]://www.crockettlab.org
Brian D. Earp
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT06520-8306. [email protected]://clarkrelationshiplab.yale.edu/people/[email protected]://oxford.academia.edu/[email protected]://www.crockettlab.org
Molly J. Crockett
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT06520-8306. [email protected]://clarkrelationshiplab.yale.edu/people/[email protected]://oxford.academia.edu/[email protected]://www.crockettlab.org
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Abstract

Tomasello argues in the target article that a sense of moral obligation emerges from the creation of a collaborative “we” motivating us to fulfill our cooperative duties. We suggest that “we” takes many forms, entailing different obligations, depending on the type (and underlying functions) of the relationship(s) in question. We sketch a framework of such types, functions, and obligations to guide future research in our commentary.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 43 , 2020 , e66
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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