Human Competition vs Human Cooperation
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HUMAN COMPETITION VS HUMAN COOPERATION
PROXIMATE CAUSATION COMPARISON
We'll immediately launch into the biology of human social behavior, laying off the ethical dimensions until later.
Human social behavior is plastic, context-sensitive, and multi-level. The same human biological systems can generate rivalry or collaboration depending on context.
The human behaviors of competion and cooperation can be studied from the perspectives of ultimate explanation, that is, natural selection; and from the perspective of five aspects of proximate explanation.
- Hormonal state
- Heural valuation
- Genetic predispositions
- Developmental calibration
- Learned expectations
I. ORIENTING DISTINCTION
We’ll compares competition and cooperation strictly at the level of proximate causation.
That is, how are competition and cooperation produced by different proximate mechanisms in humans?
We will keep track of the following “debate” errors:
* “Competition is just biological”
* “Cooperation is just cultural”
* “Humans are naturally one or the other”
II. PROXIMATE COMPARISON ACROSS FIVE LEVELS
1. Hormonal Proximate Causation
Competition:
* Testosterone heightens sensitivity to status threats and dominance challenges
* Cortisol increases vigilance in zero-sum or evaluative contexts
* Adrenaline mobilizes rapid action against rivals
Cooperation:
* Oxytocin facilitates trust, bonding, and coordinated action
* Moderate cortisol supports vigilance without threat escalation
* Endorphins reinforce social bonding during joint activity
Key contrast:
Hormones tune motivation toward either status rivalry or social bonding depending on context.
2. Neurobiological Proximate Causation
Competition:
* Valuation of relative advantage and winning outcomes
* Heightened social comparison and conflict monitoring
* Threat detection focused on loss of rank or resources
Cooperation:
* Valuation of shared goals and collective outcomes
* Perspective-taking and mentalizing about others’ intentions
* Reward processing tied to mutual success and affiliation
Key contrast:
Competition emphasizes relative payoff; cooperation emphasizes joint payoff.
3. Genetic Proximate Causation
Competition:
* Heritable variation in dominance motivation and reward sensitivity
* Differences in aggression thresholds and risk tolerance
Cooperation:
* Heritable variation in empathy, social sensitivity, and trust
* Differences in responsiveness to affiliative cues
Key contrast:
Genetic variation biases individuals toward competitive or cooperative tendencies without determining behavior.
4. Developmental Proximate Causation
Competition:
* Early exposure to ranking, scarcity, and comparison
* Sibling rivalry and performance-based evaluation
* Calibration toward vigilance and self-assertion
Cooperation:
* Secure attachment and early joint problem-solving
* Shared play, mutual reliance, and group belonging
* Calibration toward trust and coordination
Key contrast:
Development tunes expectations about whether others are rivals or partners.
5. Learning and Conditioning
Competition:
* Reinforcement through winning, prestige, or relative success
* Modeling of adversarial strategies and zero-sum thinking
* Institutional rewards tied to ranking and exclusion
Cooperation:
* Reinforcement through shared success and reciprocity
* Modeling of coordination, fairness, and trust
* Institutional rewards tied to teamwork and inclusion
Key contrast:
Learning determines when competition or cooperation is perceived as effective.
See you soon!
Tony