Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation
Summary: When individuals face collective action problems, their expectations about others' willingness to contribute affect their motivation to cooperate. Individuals, however, often misperceive the cooperation levels in a population. In the context of climate action, people underestimate the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2021-04-01
|
| Series: | iScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221003436 |
| _version_ | 1823935450876739584 |
|---|---|
| author | Fernando P. Santos Simon A. Levin Vítor V. Vasconcelos |
| author_facet | Fernando P. Santos Simon A. Levin Vítor V. Vasconcelos |
| author_sort | Fernando P. Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: When individuals face collective action problems, their expectations about others' willingness to contribute affect their motivation to cooperate. Individuals, however, often misperceive the cooperation levels in a population. In the context of climate action, people underestimate the pro-climate positions of others. Designing incentives to enable cooperation and a sustainable future must thereby consider how social perception biases affect collective action. We propose a theoretical model and investigate the effect of social perception bias in non-linear public goods games. We show that different types of bias play a distinct role in cooperation dynamics. False uniqueness (underestimating own views) and false consensus (overestimating own views) both explain why communities get locked in suboptimal states. Such dynamics also impact the effectiveness of typical monetary incentives, such as fees. Our work contributes to understanding how targeting biases, e.g., by changing the information available to individuals, can comprise a fundamental mechanism to prompt collective action. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T22:37:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-419a485457fd4b76bd4f0241c0df4ff9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T22:37:43Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj.art-419a485457fd4b76bd4f0241c0df4ff92022-12-21T22:13:33ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422021-04-01244102375Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperationFernando P. Santos0Simon A. Levin1Vítor V. Vasconcelos2Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Center for BioComplexity, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Corresponding authorDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Center for BioComplexity, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, USA; Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Stockholm, Sweden; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USACenter for BioComplexity, High Meadows Environmental Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Institute for Advanced Study, University of Amsterdam, 1012 GC Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Corresponding authorSummary: When individuals face collective action problems, their expectations about others' willingness to contribute affect their motivation to cooperate. Individuals, however, often misperceive the cooperation levels in a population. In the context of climate action, people underestimate the pro-climate positions of others. Designing incentives to enable cooperation and a sustainable future must thereby consider how social perception biases affect collective action. We propose a theoretical model and investigate the effect of social perception bias in non-linear public goods games. We show that different types of bias play a distinct role in cooperation dynamics. False uniqueness (underestimating own views) and false consensus (overestimating own views) both explain why communities get locked in suboptimal states. Such dynamics also impact the effectiveness of typical monetary incentives, such as fees. Our work contributes to understanding how targeting biases, e.g., by changing the information available to individuals, can comprise a fundamental mechanism to prompt collective action.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221003436PsychologySociologyDecision Science |
| spellingShingle | Fernando P. Santos Simon A. Levin Vítor V. Vasconcelos Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation iScience Psychology Sociology Decision Science |
| title | Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| title_full | Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| title_fullStr | Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| title_short | Biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| title_sort | biased perceptions explain collective action deadlocks and suggest new mechanisms to prompt cooperation |
| topic | Psychology Sociology Decision Science |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221003436 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fernandopsantos biasedperceptionsexplaincollectiveactiondeadlocksandsuggestnewmechanismstopromptcooperation AT simonalevin biasedperceptionsexplaincollectiveactiondeadlocksandsuggestnewmechanismstopromptcooperation AT vitorvvasconcelos biasedperceptionsexplaincollectiveactiondeadlocksandsuggestnewmechanismstopromptcooperation |