Friends near and afar, through thick and thin: Comparing contingency of help between close-distance and long-distance friends in Tanzanian fishing villages

Kristopher Michael Smith; Anne C Pisor; Bertha Aron; Kasambo Bernard; Paschal Fimbo; Rose Kimesera; Monique Borgerhoff Mulder

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.09.004

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Friends near and afar, through thick and thin: Comparing contingency of help between close-distance and long-distance friends in Tanzanian fishing villages

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Friends near and afar, through thick and thin: Comparing contingency of help between close-distance and long-distance friends in Tanzanian fishing villages

Kristopher Michael Smith, Anne C Pisor, Bertha Aron, Kasambo Bernard, Paschal Fimbo, Rose Kimesera and Monique Borgerhoff Mulder

Evolution and human behavior, Vol.44(5), pp.454-465

09/01/2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2022.09.004

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Abstract

Cooperation

Friendship

Long-distance relationships

Mobility

Reciprocity

Risk management

Humans form and maintain friendships across long distances, which can provide access to non-local resources and support against large shocks that affect the entire local community. However, there may be a greater risk of defection in long-distance friendships, as monitoring for defection is more difficult at greater distances; accordingly, help between long-distance friends may be more explicitly contingent than between close-distance friends. We interviewed 918 participants from 21 fishing villages in Tanzania about whether they had received help in the form of a gift or loan from a friend living in their village and a friend living in a neighboring village. As there are local expectations that loans will be repaid but gifts will not, we predicted that close-distance friends would be more likely to help with gifts, whereas long-distance friends would be more likely to help with loans. Contrary to our predictions, gifts and loans between close- and long-distance friends were similar in kind and amount, though close-distance friends provided help more frequently, possibly because close-distance friends are more likely to meet frequently and belong to the same religious congregation. These results indicate that long-distance friendships are an important, and likely robust, strategy for managing risk and accessing more resources.

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Title: Friends near and afar, through thick and thin: Comparing contingency of help between close-distance and long-distance friends in Tanzanian fishing villages
Creators: Kristopher Michael Smith - Washington State University
Anne C Pisor - Washington State University
Bertha Aron - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Kasambo Bernard - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Paschal Fimbo - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Rose Kimesera - Arusha, Tanzania
Monique Borgerhoff Mulder - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Publication Details: Evolution and human behavior, Vol.44(5), pp.454-465
Academic Unit: Department of Anthropology
Publisher: Elsevier Inc
Identifiers: 99901228254101842
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article