Conceptual Note: From Costly Signals to Cheap Weapons

Signal theory has long emphasized cost as the guarantor of honesty. Zahavi’sHandicap Principle [ref] proposed that costly traits (e.g., peacock tails, lion roars)are reliable precisely because they are expensive. Later research acknowledgeddeceptive signals, where organisms bluff by mimicking costly traits (e.g., Batesianmimicry) [ref].Yet an important dimension remains underdeveloped: the systematic treatment oflow-cost, weaponized signals in human and social conflict.