Cooperative responses in rats playing a 2 × 2 game: Effects of opponent strategy, payoff, and oxytocin
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The present study tested cooperation in rats playing a 2 × 2 game (2 players, 2 responses) in an operant chamber, where players choose to cooperate or defect without knowledge of their partner's choice. We evaluated cooperative responses in rats (Subjects) playing different games [iterated Prisoner's Dilemma (IPD), Stag Hunt] with a Stooge partner utilizing different response strategies [Tit-for-tat (TFT), Win-stay, Lose-shift (WSLS), Random], and we determined the effects of oxytocin (OT). IPD trial outcomes and payoffs included mutual cooperation (reward, R, 3 sugar pellets each), mutual defection (punishment, P, 1 pellet each), or unilateral defection (temptation, T, 5 pellets) and cooperation (sucker, S, 0 pellets). Stag Hunt was similar, except that T = 2 pellets. We hypothesized that Subjects would make more cooperative responses when playing Stag Hunt vs IPD, when playing IPD with a Stooge using TFT vs WSLS or Random, and when treated with OT. At baseline, Subjects' overall likelihood of cooperation was unaffected by the game (IPD vs SH) or by the Stooges' response strategy (TFT, WSLS, Random). Cooperative responses earned Subjects more pellets, except when playing with a Stooge using a random strategy. Trial outcomes (R, T, S or P) also varied by game and strategy, although the mutual defection (P) was the most common. Systemic pretreatment with OT increased Subjects' cooperative responses, resulting in fewer P and more R outcomes. In particular, IPD-Random Subjects were more cooperative, even at the expense of earning fewer pellets. These results demonstrate that OT increases cooperative behavior in rats playing 2 × 2 games.
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Intraperitoneal OXT injection significantly influenced trial outcomes, leading to a decrease in defection and an increase in cooperation.
“Notably, an intraperitoneal OXT injection significantly influenced the trial outcomes, leading to a decrease in defection and an increase in cooperation (Donovan et al., 2020), a pattern similar to what has been observed in humans (Rilling et al., 2018).”
From Convergence of oxytocin and dopamine signalling in neuronal circuits: Insights into the neurobiology of social interactions across species (2024) · cites this paper as Donovan et al., 2020
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- Authors
- Donovan, A., Ryan, E., & Wood, R. I.
- Affiliations
- University of Southern California (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wood, Ruth I.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2020-11
- Volume
- 121
- Pages
- 104803
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7572755
- OpenAlex
- W3046635793
- Cited by
- 10
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 1.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Neuroendocrine regulation and behavior
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Keywords
- cooperation, oxytocin, iterated prisoner's dilemma, stag hunt, tit-for-tat, win-stay lose-shift, opponent strategies, payoff structure, social decision-making, rats
- MeSH terms
- Prisoner Dilemma, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Cooperative Behavior, Game Theory, Male, Motivation, Oxytocin, Punishment, Reward, Rats, Long-Evans, Rats
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