Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
1) Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, Leninskiy pr., 32a, Moscow, 119991, Russia; 2) Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of History, Pr. Lomonosovsky, d. 27, 4, Moscow, 119992, Russia; 3) Russian State University for the Humanities, Miusskaya sq., 6, 2, Moscow, 125047, Russia
Rostovtseva V.V., e-mail: victoria.v.rostovtseva@gmail.com; Butovskaya Marina L., PhD, D. Sc., Professor; ORCID ID 0000-0002-5528-0519; marina.butovskaya@gmail.com.
The purpose of our study is to determine the impact of prenatal testosterone exposure (through estimation of digit ratio 2D:4D), personality traits and social factors on male cooperativeness in humans. The experiment took place in Moscow in 2016. 102 males aged 18–30 years participated in the study (51 Buryats and 51 Russians). For estimation of a propensity for the cooperation, we used iterated Public Goods Game with face-to-face interaction in the absence of verbal communication between participants. The experimental setting allowed estimating both amounts of investments and strategies. Special attention was paid to behavior in the first round of the game where participants could judge each other only by visual information. For assessing personality traits we used Five Factor Inventory (NEO), aggression questionnaire [Buss, Perry, 1992], and test for empathy [Boyko, Klitsenko, 2009]. 2nd and 4th digits length was measured via electronic caliper with a resolution of 0.01 mm by the technique of Manning [Manning, Taylor, 2001]. Every digit was measured twice; mean value was used in the analysis. Such group characteristics as size, ethnic composition and amount of cooperators and free-riders in the group were taken into account as social factors. We have found that the most cooperative men are those with mean values of 2D:4D on the right hand (significant inversed U-shaped dependence with no respect to ethnic origin), what is in line with results of other authors [Sanchez-Pages et al., 2010; Braсas-Garza et al., 2013; Galizzi, Nieboer, 2015]. Individual cooperativeness revealed a significant negative association with size and ethnic heterogeneity of the group, and significant positive relation with the number of cooperators in the group. There was no association of individual cooperativeness in the first round of the game with the number of free-riders in the group. Altruists received significantly higher scores for Neuroticism and simultaneously lower scores for Hostility. Buryats received significantly lower scores for self-reported Empathy than Russians. The relation between individual cooperativeness in the first round of the game and the number of cooperators in the group was also weaker for Buryats than for Russians. The latter may evidence that Buryats are less able to recognize cooperators using nonverbal signals. Our study shows that both biological and social factors have an impact on male cooperativeness in humans. In this paper, we discuss possible explanations of our findings in evolutionary perspective.
cooperation; altruism; Public Goods Game; 2D:4D; Big Five; testosterone; empathy; Buryats; Russians
DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2017.4.107-118
Цит.: Rostovtseva V.V., Butovskaya M.L. Biosocial mechanisms of cooperativeness in men (study in Buryats and Russians) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2017; 4/2017; с. 107-118
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