The Power of Interdependence in Human Cooperation

Published on April 13, 2023

Humans, as social beings, rely heavily on their interconnectedness with others, as the actions of one individual can greatly impact the outcomes for everyone involved. This interdependence drives humans to collaborate and work together to achieve goals that would be impossible to accomplish alone. From a biological perspective, this cooperative behavior serves to enhance reproductive fitness and overall success. The magnitude and diversity of human cooperation have fascinated scientists from various fields, including physics, biology, and the social sciences.

Humans have richly interdependent social lives in which the outcomes of any single individual are strongly affected by the behaviors and outcomes of others in their social network [1]. In this context, humans cooperate to achieve objectives, resources, and outcomes that each individual could not achieve on their own. According to a biological perspective, humans cooperate to increase their ultimate outcome: reproductive fitness [2,3]. Due to the importance, intensity, and diversity of human cooperation (see Glossary) [4], this phenomenon has captured and sustained the attention of scientists across disciplines such as physics, biology, and the social sciences.

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