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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 12, 2026

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

[Effect of consensus on punitive behavior].

Ayaka Hatano¹, Yutaka Horita, Toshio Yamagishi

¹Department of Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan. ahatano@lynx.let.hokudai.ac.jp

Shinrigaku Kenkyu : the Japanese Journal of Psychology

|March 29, 2013

Summary

Social dilemma cooperation increases when individuals know others also support punishing non-cooperators. This social norm information encourages punishment, but can decrease it in those not initially motivated to punish.

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Behavioral Economics

Context:

Social dilemmas are situations where individual self-interest conflicts with collective well-being.
The failure to provide effective sanctions (second-order social dilemma) hinders cooperation.
Fear of negative social evaluation deters individuals from punishing non-cooperators.

Purpose:

To investigate if informing participants about others' support for punishment influences cooperation in a social dilemma.
To test the hypothesis that social norm information enhances participation in punishing non-cooperators.

Summary:

An experiment with 81 participants examined the effect of social norm feedback on punishing non-cooperators in a four-person social dilemma.
Participants received bogus feedback on others' cooperative or defecting choices before deciding whether to punish a non-cooperator.
Individuals motivated to punish did so when informed that others also favored punishment; those not motivated punished less.

Impact:

Social norm information can be a powerful tool to promote cooperation by encouraging sanctioning behavior.
Understanding the role of social evaluation is crucial for designing effective interventions in social dilemmas.
Findings highlight the complex interplay between individual motivation and social context in collective action.