This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by De Backer, C. J. S. Articles by Gurven, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Whispering Down the Lane: The Economics of Vicarious Information Transfer

Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research, University of California at Santa Barbara

Michael Gurven

Department of Anthropology, University of California at Santa Barbara

This article presents a model of the use of communication about personal experience or experiences of third parties (gossip) in the context of cooperation. To date, previous research on the effect of gossip on cooperation has focused primarily on the manipulation of reputations. We present a formal model of vicarious information transfer, as a social learning strategy, between (potential) cooperative and competitive group members. We build on theories that have shown how effective communication can solve the adaptive problem of the high costs of individual learning. By communicating about the strat egies of others, individuals can vicariously learn at faster rates and lower cost. The costs and benefits of social versus individual learning have been modeled extensively. In this article, we focus on the unexplored and more basic question of when an individual should initiate the sharing of vicarious infor mation that can potentially affect the fitness of a cooperative or competitive receiver.

Key Words: gossip • social learning • communication • cooperation

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?