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Does ultrasociality really exist – and is it the best predictor of human economic behaviors?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2016

Sarah S. Stith  and
Jacob M. Vigil
Sarah S. Stith
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161. [email protected]@unm.eduhttp://econ.unm.edu/people/faculty-profiles/sarah-s.-stith.htmlhttp://psych.unm.edu/people/directory-profiles/jacob-m.-vigil.html
Jacob M. Vigil
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1161. [email protected]@unm.eduhttp://econ.unm.edu/people/faculty-profiles/sarah-s.-stith.htmlhttp://psych.unm.edu/people/directory-profiles/jacob-m.-vigil.html
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Abstract

We agree that human economic structures can be informed by comparative analyses; however, we do not agree with several of Gowdy & Krall's specific assertions, which may hinder the generative potential of their model. We discuss these limitations from both biological and economic perspectives, and offer an alternative explanation for the expression of human economic behaviors based on individual optimization strategies.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e114
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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