P. Richerson

Publications278
h-index65
Citations23,501
Highly Influential Citations869
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Culture and the Evolutionary Process
TLDR
Using methods developed by population biologists, a theory of cultural evolution is proposed that is an original and fair-minded alternative to the sociobiology debate. Expand
The evolution of altruistic punishment
TLDR
It is shown that an important asymmetry between altruistic cooperation and altruistic punishment allows altruistic punished to evolve in populations engaged in one-time, anonymous interactions, and this process allows both altruism punishment and altruism cooperation to be maintained even when groups are large. Expand
The evolution of reciprocity in sizable groups.
TLDR
It is shown that the conditions that allow the evolution of reciprocal cooperation become extremely restrictive as group size increases, and reciprocal altruism is likely to evolve when social interactions involve more individuals. Expand
The evolution of indirect reciprocity
Human societies are based on cooperation among large numbers of genetically unrelated individuals. This behavior is puzzling from an evolutionary perspective. Because cooperators are unrelated it… Expand
Punishment allows the evolution of cooperation (or anything else) in sizable groups
Abstract Existing models suggest that reciprocity is unlikely to evolve in large groups as a result of natural selection. In these models, reciprocators punish noncooperation by with-holding future… Expand
Why Culture is Common, but Cultural Evolution is Rare
If culture is defined as variation acquired and maintained by social learning, then culture is common in nature. However, cumulative cultural evolution resulting in behaviours that no individual… Expand
Not by genes alone: How culture transformed human evolution.
Humans are a striking anomaly in the natural world. While we are similar to other mammals in many ways, our behavior sets us apart. Our unparalleled ability to adapt has allowed us to occupy… Expand
Not by Genes Alone
Why does culture increase human adaptability
Abstract It is often argued that culture is adaptive because it allows people to acquire useful information without costly learning. In a recent paper Rogers (1989) analyzed a simple mathematical… Expand
The Origin and Evolution of Cultures
Over the past 25 years, Boyd and Richerson have become well-known across a wide range of disciplines for their path-breaking work on evolution and culture. This work collects twenty of the… Expand
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