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Effort Perception is Made More Accurate with More Effort and When Cooperating with Slackers
Paul Ibbotson1, Christoph Hauert2, Richard Walker3
1School of Education, Childhood Youth and Sport, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, England. paul.ibbotson@open.ac.uk.
Scientific Reports
|November 27, 2019
Summary
Human cooperation relies on accurately perceiving effort. Our study shows effort perception accuracy improves with more absolute effort and when cooperating with less committed partners, aiding adaptive strategies.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Economics
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Social Cognition
Background:
- Cooperation is fundamental to human success.
- Accurate perception of others' effort is crucial for successful cooperation.
- Existing research lacks a clear understanding of effort perception accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the accuracy of human effort perception in cooperative contexts.
- To identify factors influencing the accuracy of effort perception.
- To model the adaptive benefits of accurate effort perception strategies.
Main Methods:
- Developed a novel effort-tracker methodology to quantify effort perception accuracy.
- Conducted experiments to measure human accuracy in perceiving varying levels of effort.
- Employed formal modeling to analyze the evolutionary stability of effort-probing strategies.
Main Results:
- Effort perception accuracy increases with higher absolute effort exerted.
- Accuracy is enhanced when cooperating with individuals perceived as 'slackers' versus 'altruists'.
- An effort-prober strategy provides valuable information for partner selection and venture termination.
Conclusions:
- Humans possess sophisticated, evolved systems for detecting effort.
- These systems are optimized for accuracy in contexts critical for cooperation.
- Accurate effort perception acts as a safeguard against exploitation and promotes beneficial cooperative endeavors.
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