Free to choose: Mutualist motives for partner choice, proportional division, punishment, and help

Chien An Lin, Timothy C. Bates

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Mutualism-the disposition to cooperate in ways that benefit both actor and recipient-has been proposed as a key construct in the evolution of cooperation, with distinct adaptations for 1) partner choice, 2) division, 3) punishment, and 4) helping. However, no psychological validation of this 4-fold psychological structure exists, and no measure of the trait is available. To fill this need, in two pre-registered studies (total N = 902), we: (A) Develop and administer items assessing each of the four mutualist adaptations; (B) Show good fit to the predicted four factor model; (C) Demonstrate reliability and stability across time; (D) Evidence discriminant validity from existing constructs, including compassion and utilitarianism; (E) Establish external validity by predicting proportional choices in catch division, opposition to partner coercion, and reduced support for redistribution; and (F) Replicate each of these findings. Jointly, these results support the validity of mutualism, including a motive to maintain the freedom to choose, and provide reliable scales for use in integrating, further developing, and applying mutualism.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0266735
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume17
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 May 2022

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • mutualism
  • scientific beneficence
  • decision making
  • criminal punishment
  • built structures
  • psychological attitudes
  • psychometrics
  • crime

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