Karl Frost

2 papers in the library · 8 citations · publishing 2016-2017

Papers

Calming Meditation Increases Altruism, Decreases Parochialism

bioRxiv Preprint Server April 10, 2017 Karl Frost 5 citations preprint

A brief breath-awareness practice that induces calm reduces parochialism (favoring one's own group) and increases altruism (self-sacrifice for anyone, regardless of group). This finding supports the hypothesis that cultivating calm broadens prosocial behavior beyond group boundaries, and contradicts the alternative hypothesis that shared practices increase parochialism. In a behavioral experiment, participants played anonymous Public Goods games with both in-group and out-group members; contributions were analyzed using Bayesian model comparison. The results showed that the calming practice decreased parochialism and increased altruism, with no support for the idea that shared practice promotes parochialism.

DOI: 10.1101/060616 Full text

Coevolutionary Dynamics of Costly Bonding Ritual and Altruism

bioRxiv Preprint Server June 24, 2016 Karl Frost 3 citations preprint

Altruistic behavior and bonding among cooperators are common in animals, but how such behaviors evolve genetically remains debated. Costly ritualized movements may trigger or maintain altruistic sentiments by engaging pre-existing behavioral instincts. This paper models the genetic coevolution of such rituals and altruism, finding that altruism can become fixed in a population or cycle over time, depending on the balance of costs and benefits. When cycling occurs, altruism persists but population mean fitness declines with the introduction of bonding rituals.

DOI: 10.1101/060624 Full text