SAGE Reference - Encyclopedia of Social Psychology

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Cheater-Detection Mechanism

In: Encyclopedia of Social Psychology
Edited by: Roy F. Baumeister & Kathleen D. Vohs
Subject:Social Psychology (general)
Keywords:cheater-detection mechanisms; species

Definition

The human brain can be thought of as a computer—an organic one, designed by natural selection to process information in adaptive ways. It is composed of many programs, each of which evolved because it was good at solving a problem of survival or reproduction faced by hunter-gatherer ancestors in the past. The cheaterdetection mechanism is one of these evolved programs. The adaptive problem it evolved to solve is detecting cheaters in situations involving social exchange.

Usage

Whenever you exchange favors, buy things (trading money for goods), or help someone who has helped you, you have engaged in social exchange. It is a way people cooperate for mutual benefit: I provide a benefit of some kind to you, and you reciprocate by providing a benefit to me, either ...

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  Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Cheater-detection mechanism. In Encyclopedia of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 139-140). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n82
  
  Baumeister, Roy F., and Kathleen D. Vohs. "Cheater-Detection Mechanism." In Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, edited by Baumeister, Roy F., and Kathleen D. Vohs, 139-40. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007. https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n82.
  
  Baumeister, R. F. and Vohs, K. D. 2007. Cheater-Detection Mechanism. In: Roy F. Baumeister and Kathleen D. Vohs Editors, 2007. Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 139-140 Available at: <https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n82> [Accessed 18 May 2022].
  
  Baumeister, Roy F. and Kathleen D. Vohs. "Cheater-Detection Mechanism." Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Edited by Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2007, pp. 139-40. SAGE Knowledge. 18 May 2022, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412956253.n82.
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