Social Dilemmas: The Anatomy of Cooperation

Kollock, Peter

doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.24.1.183

Cited by 1,401 publications

(1,086 citation statements)

References 97 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

945

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…2 They find that cooperation rates are lower in larger groups. Numerous subsequent studies report further evidence that cooperation is inversely related to group size, usually using groups of size between two and seven, although, as Kollock (1998) notes in a review of this literature, in some studies the decrease in cooperation as group size increases tapers off quickly. 3 1 The framework in which tokens are allocated between private and group accounts was introduced by Marwell and Ames (1979); Isaac et al (1984) modified their design to introduce the version described above.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Cooperation in small groups: the effect of group size

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We study the effect of group size on cooperation in voluntary contribution mechanism games. As in previous experiments, we study four-and eight-person groups in high and low marginal per capita return (MPCR) conditions. We find a positive effect of group size in the low MPCR condition, as in previous experiments. However, in the high MPCR condition we observe a negative group size effect. We extend the design to investigate two-and three-person groups in the high MPCR condition, and find that cooperation is highest of all in two-person groups. The findings in the high MPCR condition are consistent with those from n-person prisoner's dilemma and oligopoly experiments that suggest it is more difficult to sustain cooperation in larger groups. The findings from the low MPCR condition suggest that this effect can be overridden. In particular, when cooperation is low other factors, such as considerations of the social benefits of contributing (which increase with group size), may dominate any negative group size effect.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Cooperation in small groups: the effect of group size

2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Information flow in social networks is analogous to whirlpools and waterspouts in the ocean. BP6 & 7 are primarily information-pools; they take in a lot of advice but give little back, which is a classic social dilemma [18,19]. BP1 & 2 are informationspouts; they receive some information, but push a lot of information out to other group members (see Fig.…”

Section: Social Pairing -Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lo-Fi Matchmaking: A Study of Social Pairing for Backpackers

Axup

Viller

MacColl

et al. 2006

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. There is a new world emerging around mobile social networks and the technologies used to facilitate and mediate them. It is technically feasible for mobile social software such as pairing or 'matchmaking' systems to introduce people to others and assist information exchange. However, little is known about the social structure of many mobile communities or why they would want pairing systems. When these systems are built, it is not clear what the social response by those communities will be or what the systems will be like to use in practice. While engaged in other work determining requirements for a mobile travel assistant we saw a potentially useful application for a pairing system to facilitate the exchange of travel information between backpackers. To explore this area, we designed two studies involving usage of a low-fidelity role prototype of a social pairing system for backpackers. Graphs of the resulting social pairings showed backpackers who were hubs in the network of travel information. It also demonstrated the effect of travel direction on information utility. Backpackers rated the utility of different pairing types, and provided feedback on the social implications of being paired based on travel histories. Practical usage of the social network pairing activity and the implications of broader societal usage are discussed.

show abstract

“…We concentrate on preference elicitation and cheap talk scripts to provide a concrete example on how social psychology can add insight into valuation work. Additional work exists on the social theory of conflict, coordination, and cooperation (e.g., Kollock, 1998;Thøgersen, 2008;Vugt, 2009;Vatn, 2009); mechanism design and the crowding out of internal and external motivations (e.g., Frey and Oberholzer-Gee, 1997;Hatcher et al, 2000); the adoption of new energy savings technologies and prosocial behavior (e.g., Batson, 1998;Yoeli, 2008), and decision making over risk and time, and how social situations can create context-dependent choices (e.g., Bowles, 1998Bowles, , 2002Cherry and Shogren, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Psychology and Environmental Economics: A New Look at ex ante Corrections of Biased Preference Evaluation

Jacquemet

James

Luchini

et al. 2011

Environ Resource Econ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Environmental economics is now a long standing field of research; much has been learned on how environmental policy can use incentives to drive individual behaviors. Among the many examples, preference elicitation is the most discussed case in which incentives fail to accurately implement efficient behavior. Using this as our motivating example, herein we explore the cross-fertilization between environmental economics and social psychology . We first review how the lessons drawn from social psychology helped address the hypothetical bias issue. We then turn to the future of this process by focusing on how cheap talk scripts influence preference elicitation. Our experimental results shows CT scripts work through persuasion -i.e. changes mind, but poorly changes actions. In that sense, preference elicitation still lacks a way of making communication binding -i.e. a way to alter intrinsic motivation of subjects to behave truthfully. Keywords:Social psychology, Commitment, Persuasive communication, Preference elicitation JEL Classification: C9; H4; Q5 Résumé L'économie de l'environnement a depuis longtemps permis de mettre en évidence les moyens par lesquels les politiques publiques menées dans ce domaine peuvent s'appuyer sur les incitations pour orienter les comportements. Les méthodes de révélation des préférences restent cependant l'un des exemples les plus étudiés de défaillance des incitations. En s'appuyant sur cette illustration, cet article propose une synthèse des progrès réalisés en économie de l'environnement grâce à l'intégration des résultats issus de la psychologie sociale. La première partie de l'article propose une revue des méthodes issues de cette discipline et destinées à corriger le biais hypothétique. La seconde partie s'appuie sur une expérience en laboratoire pour évaluer la capacité des scripts de cheap talk à résoudre ce problème. Les comportements observés montrent que les scripts de cheap talk influencent les comportements par un effet de persuasion -i.e. agissent sur les intentions, mais n'affectent que faiblement les actions. En ce sens, les méthodes de révélation des préférences souffrent toujours du manque d'une méthode de communication engageante -i.e. permettant d'affecter la motivation intrinsèque des individus à révéler leurs préférences vraies.

show abstract

Social Dilemmas: The Anatomy of Cooperation

Cited by 1,401 publications

References 97 publications

Cooperation in small groups: the effect of group size

Cooperation in small groups: the effect of group size

Lo-Fi Matchmaking: A Study of Social Pairing for Backpackers

Social Psychology and Environmental Economics: A New Look at ex ante Corrections of Biased Preference Evaluation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About