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Payoff information hampers the evolution of cooperation

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  • Steffen Huck

    (WZB
    University College London)

  • Johannes Leutgeb

    (WZB)

  • Ryan Oprea

    (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Abstract

Human cooperation has been explained through rationality as well as heuristics-based models. Both model classes share the feature that knowledge of payoff functions is weakly beneficial for the emergence of cooperation. Here, we present experimental evidence to the contrary. We let human subjects interact in a competitive environment and find that, in the long run, access to information about own payoffs leads to less cooperative behaviour. In the short run subjects use naive learning heuristics that get replaced by better adapted heuristics in the long run. With more payoff information subjects are less likely to switch to pro-cooperative heuristics. The results call for the development of two-tier models for the evolution of cooperation.

Suggested Citation

  • Steffen Huck & Johannes Leutgeb & Ryan Oprea, 2017. "Payoff information hampers the evolution of cooperation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-5, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms15147
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15147
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    2. Dimitri Dubois & Stefano Farolfi & Phu Nguyen-Van & Juliette Rouchier, 2018. "Information sharing is not always the right option when it comes to CPR extraction management: experimental findings," Working Papers of BETA 2018-24, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    3. Backhaus, Teresa & Huck, Steffen & Leutgeb, Johannes & Oprea, Ryan, 2023. "Learning through period and physical time," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 21-29.
    4. Collins, Sean M. & James, Duncan & Servátka, Maroš & Vadovič, Radovan, 2020. "Attainment of Equilibrium: Marshallian Path Adjustment and Buyer Determinism," MPRA Paper 104103, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Jiang, Zhi-Qiang & Wang, Peng & Ma, Jun-Chao & Zhu, Peican & Han, Zhen & Podobnik, Boris & Stanley, H. Eugene & Zhou, Wei-Xing & Alfaro-Bittner, Karin & Boccaletti, Stefano, 2023. "Unraveling the effects of network, direct and indirect reciprocity in online societies," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    6. Guan, Junbiao & Wang, Kaihua, 2020. "Cooperative evolution in pedestrian room evacuation considering different individual behaviors," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 369(C).

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