Dynamics of cooperation in concurrent games

People frequently encounter situations where individually optimal decisions conflict with group interests. To navigate such social dilemmas, they often employ simple heuristics based on direct reciprocity: cooperate when others do and cease cooperation when partners defect. However, prior research typically assumes that individuals only interact in one game at a time. In reality, people engage in multiple games concurrently, and the outcome of one interaction can influence behavior in another. Here, we introduce a theoretical framework to study the resulting cross-over and spill-over effects. Participants repeatedly engage in two independent stage games, either with the same or different partners, adapting their strategies over time through an evolutionary learning process. Our findings indicate that individuals often link their behavior across games, particularly under cognitive constraints like imperfect recall. A behavioral experiment with 316 UK-based students suggests that concurrent games negatively affect cooperation, highlighting how strategic motives and spillovers impact reciprocity.