Cheater Detection is Modified by Social Rank: The Impact of Dominance on the Evolution of Cognitive Functions

Cheater detection plays a crucial role in biologial and psychological theories of the evolution of cooperation and reciprocity. Here it is argued that cheater detection plays a broader role in social coordination as a fundamental, primitive cognitive adaptation to dominance hierarchies. In functional terms, dominance means that certain individuals have priority of access to resources in competitive situations. In cognitive terms, dominance hierarchies constitute a set of social norms that reflect which behaviors are permitted, prohibited, or obligated given one's rank. In order to maintain priority of access to resources, dominant individuals monitor the behavior of subordinates and aggress against those who “cheat” (violate social norms). An implication of this analysis is that higher-ranking individuals should be more likely to detect cheating in lower-ranking individuals than vice versa. Two experiments are described that support this prediction. In the first experiment, people were far more likely to look for cheaters when monitoring compliance of lower-ranking individuals on a social norm reasoning task than higher- or equal-ranking individuals. In the second, the same result obtained when reasoners were required to switch perspectives: More cheater detection was observed when reasoners adopted a high-ranking than a low-ranking perspective.