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Transient nature of cooperation by pay-it-forward reciprocity
Yutaka Horita1,2, Masanori Takezawa3,4, Takuji Kinjo3
1National Institute of Informatics, 2-1-2 Hitotsubashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8430, Japan.
Scientific Reports
|January 21, 2016
Summary
Pay-it-forward kindness, or indirect reciprocity, fades with repeated decisions. Reputation-based cooperation, however, remains stable in social dilemma games, suggesting inherent pro-sociality drives initial acts.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Psychology
- Game Theory
Background:
- Indirect reciprocity, or 'pay-it-forward' kindness, is observed in human interactions.
- Theoretically, sustained cooperation via pay-it-forward reciprocity is considered unsustainable.
- Previous studies show evidence of persistent cooperative chains in social dilemmas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the sustainability of pay-it-forward indirect reciprocity.
- To compare the stability of pay-it-forward reciprocity with reputation-based reciprocity.
- To determine the influence of repeated decisions and group dynamics on cooperation.
Main Methods:
- Large-scale laboratory experiments using a chained gift-giving game (pay-it-forward indirect reciprocity).
- Comparison with a different indirect reciprocity game incorporating reputation-building mechanisms.
- Analysis of cooperation patterns over multiple decisions per participant within groups.
Main Results:
- Cooperation consistent with pay-it-forward reciprocity was transient, observed only in initial decisions.
- Initial cooperation in pay-it-forward games stemmed from participants' inherent pro-social tendencies.
- In contrast, reputation-based reciprocity demonstrated persistent chains of cooperation.
Conclusions:
- Pay-it-forward indirect reciprocity is not a stable long-term strategy for cooperation.
- Reputation-based reciprocity offers a more sustainable mechanism for maintaining cooperation in repeated social dilemmas.
- Individual pro-sociality can initiate cooperation but does not guarantee its persistence without reputational incentives.
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