Are Humans Generous By Nature?

The Human Generosity Project is the first large-scale transdisciplinary research project to investigate the interrelationship between biological and cultural influences on human generosity. We use multiple methodologies to understand the nature and evolution of human generosity including fieldwork, laboratory experiments and computational modeling.

Colette Doing Fieldwork, 2015

Fieldwork

From herders and hunter-gatherers in Africa, to Fijian fisher-horticulturalists and American ranchers, the HGP is asking fundamental questions about why humans share during times of need. Our team of anthropologists is working at nine sites around the world doing qualitative and quantitative studies of human generosity.

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Outreach

The HGP organizes outreach activities to apply our emerging understanding of human sharing in times of need to topics including resource management and disaster recovery. We are also working with the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco to develop museum exhibits based on human sharing across societies.

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News

Members of The Human Generosity Project participated in Rutgers Day, a university-wide open house. Visitors to their table were able to use a laptop to play The Survival Game, which is also an interactive exhibit at San Francisco’s Exploratorium Museum and Omaha’s Kiewit Luminarium Museum. The game is based on the Maasai osotua (“umbilical cord”) risk-pooling system.

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HGP Blog

Exhibitizing Cooperation


What are “Need-Based Transfers”?


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