Society and relationships · 2 min read
When groups mixed, shared cooperation was rewarded more
In a game with 366 people, cooperation across groups rose when cross-group meetings were assigned or chosen, although most people chose their own group.
The study, in plain language
In the game, participants made decisions about a shared resource and could then reward others. The team compared three rules: interact only within one’s own group, be paired with someone from the other group, or freely choose whom to meet. There were 366 people in groups of six, playing twenty rounds.
Cooperation that benefited both groups was greater when cross-group meetings took place, whether they were assigned or chosen. When free to choose, most people opted for someone from their own group: only 37% of choices were directed toward the other group. Even so, those meetings tended to reward cooperation that benefited both groups.
Those who played with assigned or freely chosen cross-group meetings also reported identifying less exclusively with their own group and more with a community that included both.
The key idea
Even though most people preferred their own group, the few cross-group meetings went along with greater rewards for cooperation that benefited everyone.
Something to think about
When you can choose whom to work with, do you look for people from your own group? In the game, those who met people from the other group, even if only a few did, ended up rewarding cooperation across the groups.
The original study
Free mobility across group boundaries promotes intergroup cooperation
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
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