Prosocial behavior, which means paying a cost for others to receive a benefit, is encountered in the donation game, the prisoner's dilemma, relaxed social dilemmas, and public goods games. Many studies of prosociality assume that the population structure is either homogeneous, meaning all individuals have the same number of interaction partners, or that the social good is of one particular type. Here, we study general evolutionary dynamics for arbitrary kinds of social goods. We find that heterogeneous population structures, where some individuals have many more interaction partners than others, are extremely conducive for the evolution of prosocial behaviors. Furthermore, prosocial behaviors can evolve that accumulate most of the benefit in a few highly connected nodes while many peripheral nodes receive low or negative payoff. Surprisingly, prosociality can evolve even if the total costs exceed the total benefits. Therefore, the highly heterogeneous interaction structure of human society, which is augmented by the internet, strongly promotes the emergence of prosocial behaviors but also creates the possibility of generating tremendous inequality.
Prosocial behaviors are encountered in the donation game, the prisoner's dilemma, relaxed social dilemmas, and public goods games. Many studies assume that the population structure is homogeneous, meaning all individuals have the same number of interaction partners, or that the social good is of one particular type. Here, we explore general evolutionary dynamics for arbitrary spatial structures and social goods. We find that heterogeneous networks, wherein some individuals have many more interaction partners than others, can enhance the evolution of prosocial behaviors. However, they often accumulate most of the benefits in the hands of a few highly-connected individuals, while many others receive low or negative payoff. Surprisingly, selection can favor producers of social goods even if the total costs exceed the total benefits. In summary, heterogeneous structures have the ability to strongly promote the emergence of prosocial behaviors , but they also create the possibility of generating large inequality.
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