Just as the peacock signals his strength and fitness by displaying his enormous tail – a sheer waste of resources from a practical point of view – so costly public acts of benevolence signal to potential mates that one possesses enough resources to give so much away.
Tout comme le paon signale sa force et sa condition physique en arborant son immense queue – un pur gaspillage de ressources, d’un point de vue pratique – de même les actes coûteux de générosité publique signalent aux partenaires potentiels que l’on possède assez de ressource pour se permettre d’en gaspiller autant.