Group Cooperation, Carrying-Capacity Stress, and Intergroup Conflict

Human intergroup interactions can be peaceful, marked by mutually beneficial exchange and trade, but they often include an element of competition and can become violent. To understand when and why intergroup relations change from peaceful to violent, we focus on the interdependence structures within and between groups, and on how individuals adapt to these interdependencies. We identify carrying-capacity stress as a pivotal factor in transitioning intergroup relations from peaceful to conflictual, and discuss four neurocognitive building blocks of parochial cooperation and competition. We suggest that parochialism may be best understood as an adaptation to group-living that can inadvertently lead to intergroup hostility and conflict. Peaceful intergroup relations deteriorate when individuals engage in parochial cooperation and parochial competition. To understand when and why intergroup relations change from peaceful to violent, we present a theoretical framework mapping out the different interdependence structures between groups. According to this framework, cooperation can lead to group expansion and ultimately to carrying-capacity stress. In such cases of endogenously created carrying-capacity stress, intergroup relations are more likely to become negatively interdependent, and parochial competition can emerge as a response. We discuss the cognitive, neural, and hormonal building blocks of parochial cooperation, and conclude that conflict between groups can be the inadvertent consequence of human preparedness – biological and cultural – to solve cooperation problems within groups. Peaceful intergroup relations deteriorate when individuals engage in parochial cooperation and parochial competition. To understand when and why intergroup relations change from peaceful to violent, we present a theoretical framework mapping out the different interdependence structures between groups. According to this framework, cooperation can lead to group expansion and ultimately to carrying-capacity stress. In such cases of endogenously created carrying-capacity stress, intergroup relations are more likely to become negatively interdependent, and parochial competition can emerge as a response. We discuss the cognitive, neural, and hormonal building blocks of parochial cooperation, and conclude that conflict between groups can be the inadvertent consequence of human preparedness – biological and cultural – to solve cooperation problems within groups. a cortical structure folded deep in the lateral frontal lobe that is involved in multiple (socio)cognitive and affective processes, such as empathy, interpersonal experience, and social exclusion. situations when a group needs more resources than the local environment can provide. situations in which there is an incompatibility between the values and goals of interdependent (groups of) individuals. actions that create a benefit b to another agent (or agents) at a cost c, where c < b. a functional area within the prefrontal cortex that has an important role in higher-order cognition, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and strategic planning. three or more positively interdependent individuals. a method by which brain activity in two or more interacting individuals can be simultaneously recorded, thus permitting the study of inter-brain responses and neural coupling that underlie interactive decision-making. cooperating (versus competing) with those who (are assumed to) have a positive, cooperative (versus negative, competitive) reputation. when agents (individuals or groups) positively or negatively impact on each other’s (economic and/or psychological) states through individual and joint behavior. the degree to which the brain activities of two or more interacting individuals covary over time. the capacity to process information from others’ perspective (separate from one’s own), typically to understand and predict others’ emotions and behavioral intentions. a decision-making situation in which the individual is better off by not cooperating when others cooperate, but the group is better off when all members cooperate. a functional neural region at the border of the temporal and parietal lobes that integrates and processes information from the external environment and from within the body (also see perspective-taking). a cluster of neurons in the subcortical basal ganglia of the forebrain. A crucial component of the motor and reward systems, the VS is involved in the coordination of motivation, reinforcement, and reward processing.