Communication and Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: A Meta-Analytic Review
Abstract
Among the most researched solutions to social dilemmas is communication. Since the late 1950s, it has been well known that communication enhances cooperation in social dilemmas. This article reports a meta-analysis of this literature (forty-five effect sizes) and finds a large positive effect of communication on cooperation in social dilemmas ( d = 1.01). This effect is moderated by the type of communication, with a stronger effect of face-to-face discussion ( d = 1.21) compared to written messages ( d = 0.46). The communication-cooperation relationship is also stronger in larger, compared to smaller, group social dilemmas. Whether communication occurred before or during iterated dilemmas did not statistically affect the communication-cooperation effect size. Results are discussed according to theory and research on communication in social dilemmas.
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Communication is known to substantially increase cooperation in social dilemma games such as the trust game.
“The following two conditions thus needed to be fulfilled: (i) the social contact took place before participants knew they would play the trust game so that they could not communicate about it, as communication is known to substantially increase cooperation in social dilemma games (such as the trust game) 24 .”
From A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust (2020) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Balliet, D.
- Affiliations
- Singapore Management University (SG)
- Corresponding author
- Balliet, Daniel
- ORCID
- Balliet, Daniel
- Venue
- Journal of Conflict Resolution
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-12-03
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 39-57
- ISSN
- 0022-0027 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8766
- OpenAlex
- W2163748434
- Cited by
- 598
- References
- 75
- Citations by year
- 2026: 28 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 44 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 81 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 34 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 36.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Conflict Resolution (publishedVersion)
- Singapore Management University Institutional Knowledge (InK) (Singapore Management University) (submittedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Keywords
- social dilemmas, cooperation, communication, face-to-face discussion, written messages, group size, public goods
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