Because we spend most of our lives in a relatively small population in which we interact with the same people again and again, we continually monitor and interpret how people act. How we decide to behave toward others depends on both what they have previously done to us and how they have treated others. When people are asked if they want to donate money to another person, for example, research finds that people base their decision on what that person has done in the past. Generous people are more likely to receive donations. When we are deciding how to act, we also often subconsciously take into account the possible consequences for our own reputation.
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