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Reciprocity is one of the key factors that allows communities to work. As science has shown, humans developed reciprocity as a reflex to become the only hyper-social species without all being brothers and sisters.

In small tribes and groups, reciprocity is often based on face-to-faceness – you physically help someone care for a child, or you help them move their stuff, and expect them to help you back later on. But reciprocity seems to work on a much bigger scale than face-to-faceness could ever explain – think of people supporting the green movement in Iran (#iranelection) by traveling to NY and demonstrating at the UN, or think how even the French all felt like Americans after 9/11.

What is going on here, and how can reciprocity scale beyond face-to-faceness?

In his book “Us and Them, Understanding Your Tribal Mind,” David Berreby says:

My fellow feeling for the people of New York does not depend on everyone of us taking turns doing each other’s dishes… For a city or nation to exist, its members must be good at satisfying their need for reciprocity with symbols, not actions.

Bingo!

Symbols, signals, and rules are the key to scaling reciprocity, and by proxy, the ...