Understanding the evolution of cooperation is one of the most important scientific challenges of the century. Cooperation can be found at virtually any scale of biological organization and has played a fundamental role in major evolutionary steps. Thus, cooperation occurs not only in human societies but also among other social animals to varying degrees, and even in simpler beings, such as bacteria and viruses. Furthermore, these behaviors are being replicated in the design of artificial systems, such as computational networks and swarms of robots, as well as hybrids where humans and artificial elements interact. The main tool used in the study of the evolution of cooperation is evolutionary game theory, which combines perspectives and methodologies from both economics and biology.
The studies we conduct related to the emergence and maintenance of cooperation cover a wide spectrum and have an impact both scientifically and socially. Among them, the following stand out:
- Emergence of intolerance in societies where individuals make decisions based on reputation systems, analyzing the impact of economic inequality, resource limitations, the existence of minorities, and the overall level of societal fragmentation.
- Evolution of collective intelligence, particularly in collective decision-making and the division of labor.
- Emergence of behaviors and institutions in the context of cooperative agreements within groups, such as mechanisms of revenge, forgiveness, ostracism, and reintegration.
- Coevolution, competition, and complementarity of different fundamental mechanisms that promote cooperation, such as reciprocity, signaling, or leadership.
DEFE Researcher: Luis A. Martínez Vaquero.