Gender-based pairings influence cooperative expectations and behaviours.
Anna Cigarini1,2, Julián Vicens1,2, Josep Perelló3,4
1OpenSystems Research Group, Departament de Física de la Matèria Condensada, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
Scientific Reports
|January 25, 2020
Summary
Gender influences cooperation in public Prisoner's Dilemma games. Men show lower cooperation, while mixed-gender pairs achieve the best outcomes, suggesting non-verbal cues impact social decisions differently.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Experimental Economics
Background:
- Understanding gender differences in social decision-making is crucial.
- Citizen science offers novel methods for public space behavioral experiments.
- The Prisoner's Dilemma game is a standard tool for studying cooperation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gender-based differences in expectations and cooperation.
- To examine the impact of gender pairings on Prisoner's Dilemma game outcomes.
- To explore the role of visual contact and non-verbal cues in social interactions.
Main Methods:
- A lab-in-the-field experiment utilizing citizen science practices.
- Participants engaged in a framed and discrete Prisoner's Dilemma game.
- Analysis of cooperation rates, expectations, and decision times based on gender pairings.
Main Results:
- Men-only pairs exhibited the lowest expectations and cooperation rates.
- Women demonstrated higher accuracy in predicting men's behavior after visual contact.
- Mixed-gender pairs showed higher expected cooperation and achieved optimal collective outcomes.
- Women took longer to defect than to cooperate, unlike men.
Conclusions:
- Gender significantly influences cooperative behavior and expectations in public Prisoner's Dilemma games.
- Non-verbal cues appear to affect men and women differently, impacting social decisions.
- Mixed-gender interactions can lead to improved collective outcomes, highlighting the importance of intergroup dynamics.
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