Human cooperation in changing groups in a large-scale public goods game

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Social Psychology
• Game Theory

Background:

• Cooperation in public goods provision is crucial for societal functioning.
• Existing research often overlooks the dynamic nature of group composition.
• Real-world public goods dilemmas involve constantly changing group memberships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between group composition changes and cooperation in public goods games.
• To understand how newcomer and incumbent roles influence contribution behavior.
• To analyze cooperation dynamics in large-scale online public goods provision.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a large dataset from an online public goods game.
• Examination of approximately 1.5 million contribution decisions.
• Study of over 11.3 thousand groups with significant composition changes.

Main Results:

• Group composition changes were found to negatively correlate with cooperation levels.
• Individuals in newcomer roles contributed less than those in incumbent roles.
• Cooperation increased as individuals transitioned from newcomer to incumbent status.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic group compositions pose challenges to sustained cooperation in public goods provision.
• The newcomer effect, characterized by lower initial contributions, significantly impacts group dynamics.
• Understanding and potentially mitigating the newcomer effect is vital for effective public goods provision in evolving groups.