According to evolutionary theory, animals must act selfishly to win the competition for survival, yet some animals and humans exhibit altruistic behavior. How did altruistic behavior evolve, and what are the hypotheses behind it? This question is explored through the costly signaling hypothesis.
All animals, including humans, strive to maintain themselves and their species. According to Darwin’s theory of evolution, only those species that have a competitive advantage have been naturally selected and have evolved to survive in extreme competition. In this context, it is paradoxical that many animals cooperate and sometimes exhibit altruistic behavior in order to survive and reproduce. From an evolutionary perspective, altruistic behavior – helping someone other than oneself – seems to be much more disadvantageous than selfish behavior, which is looking out for one’s own interests. How do we explain behaviors that involve sacrificing and giving up one’s own survival, behaviors that seem to defy evolutionary theory? And how have altruistic individuals managed to survive amongst selfish individuals? One attempt to explain this is the “costly signaling hypothesis”. Let’s dig into the costly signaling hypothesis with two examples.
In the vast African grasslands, prey and predators fight for survival. A prime example is the lion and the gazelle. Obviously, gazelles should run away quickly when they see a predator, but some gazelles don’t run away, they jump up and down in place. Are the other gazelles luring the lion to run away? But what’s even more surprising is that the lion is chasing the fleeing gazelles, not them! From an evolutionary perspective, the gazelles had to run away to survive, and the lion should have chased the gazelles jumping in place to get an easy meal with little effort. But why do animals behave so contrary to expectations? The costly signaling hypothesis may be the answer. In this hypothesis, expensive doesn’t just mean monetary, but also in the sense that it’s not something that anyone can copy. The idea of sending a signal with this meaning to someone else is the costly signal hypothesis. In the example above, the gazelle is sending an expensive signal to the lion that says, “I have stronger legs and can run faster!” by jumping high instead of running away, an action that other gazelles can’t easily do. The key here is that not everyone can do it, and the more difficult it is to do, the more valuable the signal becomes and the more trustworthy it becomes.
We can easily find examples of this hypothesis in human society. One example is the behavior of buying luxury goods, where people equate their value with the value of the brand by buying and wearing it. By buying and wearing luxury goods, people equate themselves with the value of the brand. Carrying around an expensive Louis Vuitton bag sends a signal to others that says, “I have the money to buy an expensive Louis Vuitton bag. Simply looking at the bag itself, buying a luxury bag seems like an unnecessary and irrational behavior. People who don’t have a lot of money can’t afford expensive luxury goods, which creates a divide between those who can afford them and those who can’t. The fact that not everyone can afford luxury goods lends credence to the signal that “people who use luxury goods are rich.
This expensive signaling hypothesis is also manifested in many ways in modern society. Expensive signaling strategies also play an important role in business management. For example, when a company enters a new market, a massive advertising campaign isn’t just about getting the word out about its products. It sends a signal to competitors and consumers that the company is well-funded and confident. These costly signals create wariness in competitors and trust and interest in consumers.
The costly signaling hypothesis explains the behavior of lions and gazelles, as well as the behavior of people who pay more for luxury goods, which is not explained from an evolutionary perspective. The gazelle, which needs to run faster to survive, sends a costly signal to the lion about its superiority by running instead of fleeing. The behavior of buying luxury goods that are more expensive than similar products may seem irrational, but by purchasing luxury goods, people send expensive signals to others about their abilities, such as wealth. There are several hypotheses to explain altruistic behavior, including the kin selection hypothesis (due to having the same genes), the repetition-reciprocity hypothesis (due to repeated interactions with the other person), and the group selection hypothesis (due to being in a group rather than alone). These hypotheses are significant in that they don’t explain the two examples above, but they do explain the costly signaling hypothesis. However, there are obvious limitations, such as the behavior of the anonymous gentleman who often appears in newspapers. Behaviors such as leaving wads of cash or gold bars at city offices and city halls without anyone noticing are altruistic, but they are not costly signaling because the actor is unknown. Different hypotheses to explain altruistic behavior have their own strengths and limitations. Rather than a single hypothesis that explains all altruistic behavior, multiple hypotheses that explain altruistic behavior from different perspectives may provide a broader understanding of the reasons for altruistic behavior.
