On the Perception of Newcomers

Abstract

Human coalitions frequently persist through multiple, overlappingmembership generations, requiring new members to cooperate andcoordinate with veteran members. Does the mind contain psychologicaladaptations for interacting within these intergenerational coalitions?In this paper, we examine whether the mind spontaneously treatsnewcomers as a motivationally privileged category. Newcomers-thoughcapable of benefiting coalitions-may also impose considerable costs(e.g., they may free ride on other members, they may be poor atcompleting group tasks). In three experiments we show (1) that the mindcategorizes coalition members by tenure, including newcomers; (2) thattenure categorization persists in the presence of orthogonal and salientsocial dimensions; and (3) that newcomers elicit a pattern ofimpressions consistent with their probable ancestral costs. Theseresults provide preliminary evidence for a specialized component ofhuman coalitional psychology: an evolved concept of newcomer.