Group Cooperation, Carrying-Capacity Stress, and Intergroup Conflict

Abstract

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 competitio

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.