Inducing cooperative behavior among proselfs versus prosocials: the moderating role of incentives and trust
Abstract
This study investigates how an individual’s social value orientation (SVO) interacts with explicit cooperative incentives on one hand, and intrinsic and extraneously induced trust on the other hand, to affect cooperative behavior. In three experiments, subjects (n = 322) played a one-shot prisoner’s dilemma (PD; with weak cooperative incentives) and an assurance game (AG; with strong cooperative incentives) in conditions with or without trust signals. The authors found, as expected, that cooperative behavior is strongly spurred by explicit incentives, but not by trust, among people with a proself value orientation. Conversely, trust is very important to enhance cooperative behavior of participants with a prosocial value orientation, whereas explicit incentives are less important compared to proselfs. The authors conclude that this study reveals two fundamentally different logics of cooperative behavior: one based on extrinsic incentives and the other on trust.
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Death anxiety and consequent existential insecurity can bring out selfishness and greed in people.
“Thus, death anxiety and consequent existential insecurity can bring out the selfishness and greed in people.”
In a one-shot anonymous PD game, proself individuals cooperate significantly less than prosocials, regardless of whether the game is played simultaneously or sequentially.
“Accordingly, in a one-shot anonymous PD game, proself individuals cooperate significantly less than prosocials, and this is true regardless of whether the game is played simultaneously or sequentially (Boone et al., 2010).”
From The effect of oxytocin on cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma depends on the social context and a person's social value orientation (2014) · cites this paper as Boone et al., 2010
Proselfs differ from prosocials in their willingness to cooperate.
“Second, proselfs differ from prosocials in their willingness to cooperate.”
From The effect of oxytocin on cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma depends on the social context and a person's social value orientation (2014) · cites this paper as Boone et al., 2010
In a prisoner's dilemma, proselfs choose to defect even when they trust their partner to cooperate.
“In a PD, they therefore choose to defect even when they trust their partner to cooperate (Boone et al., 2010).”
From The effect of oxytocin on cooperation in a prisoner's dilemma depends on the social context and a person's social value orientation (2014) · cites this paper as Boone et al., 2010
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“, 2020) or as a social dilemma of the inherent conflict between consumers' egocentric self-interest and altruistic motivation for the good of the larger society as a whole (Boone et al., 2010; Cruickshank, 2020).”
Background
- Authors
- Boone, C., Declerck, C., & Kiyonari, T.
- Affiliations
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- Aoyama Gakuin University (JP)
- Venue
- Journal of Conflict Resolution
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-06-15
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 799-824
- ISSN
- 0022-0027 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8766
- OpenAlex
- W2155386274
- Cited by
- 84
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 18.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Conflict Resolution (publishedVersion)
- 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
- cooperative behavior, social value orientation, trust, trust signals, prisoner's dilemma, assurance game, extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards
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