Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

In- and Out-Groups01:31

In- and Out-Groups

People all belong to a gender, race, age, and social economic group. These groups provide a powerful source of our identity and self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and serve as our in-groups. An in-group is a group that we identify with or see ourselves as belonging to.
Impact of Groups on Groups01:19

Impact of Groups on Groups

Social psychologists analyze how groups influence one another, shaping social structures and interactions through both cooperation and competition. These dynamics manifest in various ways, ranging from economic partnerships to intergroup conflicts that shape societal structures and perceptions.Cooperation and Competition in Intergroup RelationsIntergroup relationships vary across contexts, sometimes fostering cooperation and mutual benefit while at other times leading to conflict and...
The Stanford Prison Experiment03:20

The Stanford Prison Experiment

The famous and controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by social psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University, demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts.
Robbers Cave04:49

Robbers Cave

During the 1950s, the landmark Robbers Cave experiment demonstrated that when groups must compete with one another, intergroup conflict, hostility, and even violence may result. At the Oklahoman summer camp, two troops of boys—termed the Rattlers and the Eagles—took part in a week-long tournament. During this time, their negativity culminated in derogatory name-calling, fistfights, and even vandalism and destruction of property. However, this work also revealed that such tension could be...
Punishment01:27

Punishment

Negative reinforcement and punishment are often confused but serve distinct functions in behavior modification. Reinforcement, whether positive or negative, increases the likelihood of a desired behavior, while punishment decreases it.
Punishment can be positive or negative. Positive punishment involves adding an undesirable stimulus, such as scolding, to decrease a behavior. Negative punishment involves removing a desirable stimulus, such as taking away a favorite toy, to decrease behavior.
Groupthink01:34

Groupthink

When in group settings, we are often influenced by the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around us. Groupthink is another phenomenon of conformity where modification of the opinions of members in a group aligns with what they believe is the group consensus (Janis, 1972). In such situations, the group often takes action that individuals would not perform outside the group setting because groups make more extreme decisions than individuals do. Moreover, groupthink can hinder opposing trains of...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Digital clinic users in Finnish public primary care: their characteristics, reasons for visits, and equity considerations - a register study.

Scandinavian journal of primary health care·2026
Same author

Timing Is Everything: The Effect of Exposure to Pollution on Wildlife Gut Microbiota Is Contingent on Season.

Molecular ecology·2026
Same author

Beyond the laboratory: the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) as a novel model organism in biological research.

Frontiers in zoology·2025
Same author

Linking bioenergetics and radiation dose in Chornobyl rodents.

The Journal of experimental biology·2025
Same author

Effectiveness of Text Messaging Nudging to Increase Coverage of Influenza Vaccination Among Older Adults in Norway (InfluSMS Study): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

JMIR research protocols·2025
Same author

Author Correction: The European Reference Genome Atlas: piloting a decentralised approach to equitable biodiversity genomics.

npj biodiversity·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

Costly punishment prevails in intergroup conflict.

Lauri Sääksvuori1, Tapio Mappes, Mikael Puurtinen

  • 1Max Planck Institute of Economics, IMPRS, Kahlaische Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany. saaksvuori@econ.mpg.de

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|April 1, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Group competition makes costly punishment effective, promoting cooperation and group success. This explains the evolution of punishment and cooperation in humans facing intergroup conflict.

More Related Videos

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
08:24

The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: August 25, 2023

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents
07:05

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Published on: September 10, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Social sciences
  • Behavioral economics

Background:

  • Resolving conflicts between individual and common interests is a fundamental issue.
  • Humans incur costs to punish uncooperative individuals, a behavior difficult to explain evolutionarily.
  • Previous studies in isolated groups showed punishment costs can negate cooperation benefits.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of group competition in the evolution of costly punishment.
  • To determine if group competition enhances the effectiveness of punishment.
  • To understand how punishment influences within-group variation and group-level success.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental designs involving groups in direct competition.
  • Comparison of group outcomes with and without punishment opportunities.
  • Analysis of individual willingness to punish under varying competitive pressures.

Main Results:

  • Groups with punishment opportunities outperformed those without in intergroup competition.
  • Punishment reduced within-group variation in success, favoring group-functional behaviors.
  • Willingness to engage in costly punishment increased with heightened intergroup competition.

Conclusions:

  • Intergroup conflict is a crucial factor in the emergence of costly punishment.
  • Costly punishment, driven by competition, facilitates the evolution of human cooperation.
  • Punishment's effectiveness is amplified in competitive environments, leading to group advantage.