Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions
Could cooperation among strangers be facilitated by adaptations that use sparse information to accurately predict cooperative behaviour? We hypothesise that predictions are influenced by beliefs, descriptions, appearance and behavioural history available for first and second impressions. We also hyp...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X23000300/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797303068873719808 |
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| author | Eric Schniter Timothy W. Shields |
| author_facet | Eric Schniter Timothy W. Shields |
| author_sort | Eric Schniter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Could cooperation among strangers be facilitated by adaptations that use sparse information to accurately predict cooperative behaviour? We hypothesise that predictions are influenced by beliefs, descriptions, appearance and behavioural history available for first and second impressions. We also hypothesise that predictions improve when more information is available. We conducted a two-part study. First, we recorded thin-slice videos of university students just before their choices in a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma with matched partners. Second, a worldwide sample of raters evaluated each player using videos, photos, only gender labels or neither images nor labels. Raters guessed players’ first-round Prisoner's Dilemma choices and then their second-round choices after reviewing first-round behavioural histories. Our design allows us to investigate incremental effects of gender, appearance and behavioural history gleaned during first and second impressions. Predictions become more accurate and better-than-chance when gender, appearance or behavioural history is added. However, these effects are not incrementally cumulative. Predictions from treatments showing player appearance were no more accurate than those from treatments revealing gender labels and predictions from videos were no more accurate than those from photos. These results demonstrate how people accurately predict cooperation under sparse information conditions, helping explain why conditional cooperation is common among strangers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:47:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dc166a06f44542ec8a46ffe7dedc96a8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2513-843X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T23:47:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Human Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-dc166a06f44542ec8a46ffe7dedc96a82024-02-19T10:14:55ZengCambridge University PressEvolutionary Human Sciences2513-843X2024-01-01610.1017/ehs.2023.30Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressionsEric Schniter0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2381-3616Timothy W. Shields1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9155-2104Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA Center for the Study of Human Nature, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA Division of Anthropology, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 92831, USAEconomic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USA Argyros School of Business and Economics, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92866, USACould cooperation among strangers be facilitated by adaptations that use sparse information to accurately predict cooperative behaviour? We hypothesise that predictions are influenced by beliefs, descriptions, appearance and behavioural history available for first and second impressions. We also hypothesise that predictions improve when more information is available. We conducted a two-part study. First, we recorded thin-slice videos of university students just before their choices in a repeated Prisoner's Dilemma with matched partners. Second, a worldwide sample of raters evaluated each player using videos, photos, only gender labels or neither images nor labels. Raters guessed players’ first-round Prisoner's Dilemma choices and then their second-round choices after reviewing first-round behavioural histories. Our design allows us to investigate incremental effects of gender, appearance and behavioural history gleaned during first and second impressions. Predictions become more accurate and better-than-chance when gender, appearance or behavioural history is added. However, these effects are not incrementally cumulative. Predictions from treatments showing player appearance were no more accurate than those from treatments revealing gender labels and predictions from videos were no more accurate than those from photos. These results demonstrate how people accurately predict cooperation under sparse information conditions, helping explain why conditional cooperation is common among strangers.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X23000300/type/journal_articlecheater detectioncooperation predictionPrisoner's Dilemmaphotographsthin-slice video |
| spellingShingle | Eric Schniter Timothy W. Shields Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions Evolutionary Human Sciences cheater detection cooperation prediction Prisoner's Dilemma photographs thin-slice video |
| title | Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| title_full | Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| title_fullStr | Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| title_short | Better-than-chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| title_sort | better than chance prediction of cooperative behaviour from first and second impressions |
| topic | cheater detection cooperation prediction Prisoner's Dilemma photographs thin-slice video |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2513843X23000300/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ericschniter betterthanchancepredictionofcooperativebehaviourfromfirstandsecondimpressions AT timothywshields betterthanchancepredictionofcooperativebehaviourfromfirstandsecondimpressions |