The reason lions chase gazelles that run at full speed instead of catching those that don’t run away is to increase the chances of a successful hunt. Fast gazelles demonstrate their speed by sprinting to get away from the lion’s target, and similar examples are found in other animal and human behaviors as part of costly signaling.
In Africa, a lion goes on a hunt to catch an antelope called a gazelle, but one gazelle doesn’t run away, it just hops in place. The lion doesn’t catch this non-running gazelle, but goes to catch the other gazelle, which runs away at full speed. Why does this happen?
At first glance, it doesn’t make sense. From the gazelle’s point of view, it’s common sense to run full speed away if there’s a lion coming to catch you, and from the lion’s point of view, it’s common sense to catch a gazelle that doesn’t run away rather than one that does. But if you look at this scene more closely from the animals’ point of view, it makes sense.
Hunting is very stamina-intensive for both the chaser and the chased, so the lion needs to maximize its chances of success when it sets out to hunt, and chasing the slowest gazelle in a herd of gazelles will save it stamina and increase its chances of success. The gazelles don’t know who the lion is going to chase, so they all have to run away first, but if they know the lion isn’t chasing them, they can spend less energy running away. If the slowest gazelle is marked by behavior and outward signs, both the chasing lion and the chased gazelle can minimize their energy expenditure.
However, from the lion’s point of view, there is no realistic way to tell which gazelle is the slowest. To prove their speed, the fastest gazelle will do something that the slower gazelle cannot do: they will run away from the lion’s target, and that behavior is called galloping. The reason why the gazelle is able to demonstrate its speed is that it does this risky behavior despite the fact that there is a predator right in front of it, and it convinces the lion that “this is a fast gazelle.” It’s also risky, because a slower gazelle would not be able to do this with a predator right in front of it.
The hopping behavior is a signal that shows how well the gazelle can run, and it’s a signal that not just anyone can send, so we call it a “costly signal”. Examples of this “expensive signaling” can be found in other animals.
In the case of peacocks, only males have the elegant tail feathers, which are so large and heavy that they are inconvenient to carry and dangerous to predators. Nevertheless, peacocks carry the feathers because they are considered sexually attractive, which gives them an advantage when looking for a mate. Why are those feathers considered sexually attractive? Because if the peacock is still alive despite having those cumbersome feathers, it’s showing its capabilities. If it wasn’t capable, it would be dead. So the presence of those feathers sends a costly signal, and the more costly the signal, the more trusting the mate.
People do the same thing to demonstrate their competence. Let’s take a look at some examples of expensive signals people send.
There’s a common scene in gangster movies where two gangsters hit themselves in the head with a beer bottle before a fight, and another person breaks a gourd by hitting themselves in the head with a gourd instead of the other person, an action that doesn’t make sense at first glance. But it has the same effect as the antelope’s leap of faith: if you’re not strong and weak, you can’t do this because hitting yourself in the head with a gourd will do a lot of damage to you. It’s a costly signal to the other person that you’re strong because you can’t do it if you’re weak.
People buy luxury cars, clothes, and watches to show off their wealth. These things are expensive signals if they are so expensive that no one else can even imitate them, and the more expensive they are, the more effective they will be.
Another example of what people do to show off their wealth is the Kwakiutl tribe’s potlatch festival. In the northwestern part of the North American continent, there is a group of Indians named the Kwakiutl. They celebrate a unique festival called Potlatch, which is a joint celebration of several villages. The chief of the village that hosts the festival gives a huge amount of gifts to the chiefs of the other villages and to the people of the other villages. At the end of the festival, he throws his possessions into the flames, throwing increasingly valuable items, and even burning down his own house. This outrageous behavior is interpreted as an incredibly expensive signal that shows how much power and wealth he has.
Naturally, the signal must be credible, and for it to be credible, not just anyone can send such a signal, they must have a specific ability to do so. In other words, there is a cost to sending such a signal: someone who is not competent will not send the signal because the cost of sending the signal is greater than the benefit of sending the signal. On the other hand, someone who is competent will send the signal because the benefit of sending the signal is greater than the cost of sending the signal. Therefore, the recipient of the signal will believe that the person sending the signal is competent and will trust the signal.
This signaling theory can also be applied to explain human behavior. For example, to signal performance or competence in the workplace, employees often volunteer to work overtime or take on difficult projects. These behaviors serve as costly signals to their bosses and peers that demonstrate their competence and commitment. This hard work and dedication earns you far more credibility than if you simply pay lip service to it.
You can also find examples of expensive signaling in academics. When students strive to get into higher education, maintain a high GPA, and participate in various competitions, they are demonstrating their intellectual abilities and the results of their hard work. These signals make a big impression on college admissions officers and future employers, and are an important factor in making them trust your abilities.
Finally, expensive signaling also plays an important role in social relationships. For example, at weddings and other important social events, people wear expensive outfits and accessories and host lavish parties as a way to show off their social status and wealth. These signals are not just outward displays, but also a way to show that they are trustworthy.
