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Moral externalization is an implausible mechanism for cooperation, let alone "hypercooperation".

Tim Johnson1

  • 1Center for Governance and Public Policy Research & Atkinson Graduate School of Management,Willamette University,Salem,OR 97301.tjohnson@willamette.eduwww.tim-j.com.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
|May 9, 2019
PubMed
Summary

Moral externalization, requiring detailed information on moral commitments, is unlikely to explain cooperation. Such information is unavailable in low-information environments where hypercooperation occurs.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics
  • Moral Philosophy

Background:

  • Cooperation and hypercooperation are key areas of study in human behavior.
  • Moral externalization is proposed as a mechanism for facilitating cooperation.
  • Low-information environments characterize many social interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the viability of moral externalization as a mechanism for cooperation.
  • To assess whether moral externalization can explain human "hypercooperativeness."

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of the requirements for moral externalization.
  • Examination of information availability in environments exhibiting hypercooperation.
  • Cost-benefit analysis of information collection for moral commitments.

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Main Results:

  • Moral externalization necessitates accurate information on others' moral commitments.
  • This required information is absent in low-information environments.
  • Information collection is costly and avoided by other interaction mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • Moral externalization is an improbable driver of cooperation.
  • It is an even less likely explanation for "hypercooperation."
  • Alternative mechanisms are needed to explain cooperative behaviors in low-information settings.