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Fairness in Animals: Where to from Here?

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Abstract

In the last decade, there has been an explosion of work investigating non-human species’ behavior as it relates to the human sense of fairness and justice. This research has provided a much needed evolutionary perspective on humans, and highlighted ways in which humans’ behavior is both similar to and different from that of other species. In this concluding paper, we outline the major threads of the work highlighted in this and the previous special issues of Social Justice Research and provide thoughts on future directions for the field. This is a very exciting time in our exploration of the evolution of human justice and fairness, and we eagerly await the developments of the next decade.

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Notes

  1. Hobbes (1991 [orig. 1651]).

  2. Ten seconds represents a long delay for chimpanzees, particularly as this is two to three times the length of the typical exchange interaction, and the partner got their food immediately.

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Acknowledgments

Funding to SFB was provided by National Science Foundation Grant SES 1123897, NSF CAREER Award SES 0847351, and National Institutes of Health grant NIH P01HD060563. We thank Lydia Hopper for helpful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA

    Sarah F. Brosnan

  2. Living Links Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Frans B. M. de Waal

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Correspondence to Sarah F. Brosnan.

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Brosnan, S.F., de Waal, F.B.M. Fairness in Animals: Where to from Here?. Soc Just Res 25, 336–351 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-012-0165-8

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