Strategies of inducing cooperation: an experimental study

Abstract : Ss played a two-person laboratory game in which they could act altruistically, individualistically, defensively, or aggressively. Ss did not interact with a real person, but 5 programmed strategies were employed to see which was most effective in eliciting cooperation from a non-cooperative S. The strategies were: Turn The Other Cheek - the program responded to a threat or an attack by an altruistic choice and with a cooperative choice otherwise; Nonpunitive - the program responded defensively rather than with counter-threats or counter attacks when the S threatened or attacked, and reciprocated the rest of the S's behavior; Deterrent - the program responded with a threat to any noncooperative act of the S, counter attacked when the S attacked and responded cooperatively to any cooperative behavior from the S; two types of Reformed Sinner strategy - in both the program responded with threats and aggression for the first 15 trials of the game and then changed dramatically on the 16th trial by disarming. In one form of the Reformed Sinner the program followed the Turn The Other Cheek strategy, and in the other the program became Nonpunitive. Results are consistent with findings of other investigators. Ss behaved most competitively during the 15 trials of the Reformed Sinner condition when the program was threatening and aggressive; Ss tended to exploit in the Turn The Other Cheek condition; Ss behaved most cooperatively in the Nonpunitive condition. (Author)