Humans Reputational Concern: How the Reputation-Based Mechanisms of Social Evolution May Be Leveraged in the Modern Context of Social Media

Abstract

In social lives, humans cooperate with or help others who are neither genetically related nor socially closed. This fact might help explain the underlying psychological mechanism of reputational concern that has been selected by evolution. However, the modern environment changes drastically compared to the ancestral past. How does the reputation-based mechanism evolved, and could it still secure its importance? This paper conducted a literature review and synthesized multiple evolutionary theories to examine the reputation-based mechanisms and consider how they may function in the modern context. The argument suggests that reputational concern embodies the evolutionary incentive to seek interactions that are favorable to fitness and reproduction (e.g., cooperation). Using the analysis, this paper then proposed an experimental test of social media exposure that shed light on how the mechanism may be leveraged to enhance cooperative behavior. Overall, by understanding the ultimate design of the psychology of reputation, we may utilize modern resources to harness its functions and promote positive change.