Overview of Cooperation in Social Dilemmas
Cooperation is people working together to achieve results or people helping each other out to achieve a
common goal. Researchers within the field of cooperation study how and why humans engage in
behaviors that benefit others.
The study of human cooperation examines decisions and behavior in social dilemmas1 to understand
cooperation
- Theory of cooperation
- Methods of studying cooperation
Cooperation occurs within:
- Relationships
- Groups and organizations
- Society
Cooperation is not unique to humans
- It is abundant in nature (e.g., ants show one of the highest forms of social cooperation)
- As humans, we might cooperate differently than other animals, but there are overlapping
similarities
Are humans naturally cooperative?
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Thomas Hobbes
The dimensions of interdependence:
- Mutual dependence (i.e., interdependence): degree of how much each person’s outcomes are
determined by how each person behaves in that situation
- E.g., ‘we need each other to get our best outcome in this situation’
- Power (i.e., asymmetrical dependence): degree to which an individual determines their own and
others’ outcomes, while others do not influence their own outcome
- E.g., ‘what satisfies me also satisfies the other’
- Conflict of interests (i.e., correspondence of interests): degree to which the behavior that results
in the best outcome for one individual results in the worst outcome for the other
- E.g., ‘who do you feel was most in control of what happens in the situation?’
‘Individual rationality can lead to collective irrationality’
1
Dilemmas between (1) citizens and society, (2) the individual and group, (3) the partners in a relationship.
1
Cooperation is people working together to achieve results or people helping each other out to achieve a
common goal. Researchers within the field of cooperation study how and why humans engage in
behaviors that benefit others.
The study of human cooperation examines decisions and behavior in social dilemmas1 to understand
cooperation
- Theory of cooperation
- Methods of studying cooperation
Cooperation occurs within:
- Relationships
- Groups and organizations
- Society
Cooperation is not unique to humans
- It is abundant in nature (e.g., ants show one of the highest forms of social cooperation)
- As humans, we might cooperate differently than other animals, but there are overlapping
similarities
Are humans naturally cooperative?
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- Thomas Hobbes
The dimensions of interdependence:
- Mutual dependence (i.e., interdependence): degree of how much each person’s outcomes are
determined by how each person behaves in that situation
- E.g., ‘we need each other to get our best outcome in this situation’
- Power (i.e., asymmetrical dependence): degree to which an individual determines their own and
others’ outcomes, while others do not influence their own outcome
- E.g., ‘what satisfies me also satisfies the other’
- Conflict of interests (i.e., correspondence of interests): degree to which the behavior that results
in the best outcome for one individual results in the worst outcome for the other
- E.g., ‘who do you feel was most in control of what happens in the situation?’
‘Individual rationality can lead to collective irrationality’
1
Dilemmas between (1) citizens and society, (2) the individual and group, (3) the partners in a relationship.
1
