Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: The Impact of Productivity Uncertainty and Agreeableness on Contributions to the Public Good

This study investigates how agreeableness and productivity uncertainty influence cooperation in social dilemmas. Productivity uncertainty refers to not knowing how much one’s cooperation will benefit the collective, a characteristic of many real-life social dilemmas like climate change. The uncertainty about whether cooperation will be productive, unproductive, or counterproductive might decrease people’s contributions to the public good. Previous research demonstrates that agreeableness is linked to the willingness to cooperate. It is argued that the negative impact of productivity uncertainty on cooperation is lower for people high rather than low on agreeableness. Despite significant main effects of agreeableness and productivity uncertainty on contributions to the public good, the findings of this experiment show that the degree of agreeableness does not explain the impact of productivity uncertainty on cooperation. However, the study provides several explanations and suggests...Show moreThis study investigates how agreeableness and productivity uncertainty influence cooperation in social dilemmas. Productivity uncertainty refers to not knowing how much one’s cooperation will benefit the collective, a characteristic of many real-life social dilemmas like climate change. The uncertainty about whether cooperation will be productive, unproductive, or counterproductive might decrease people’s contributions to the public good. Previous research demonstrates that agreeableness is linked to the willingness to cooperate. It is argued that the negative impact of productivity uncertainty on cooperation is lower for people high rather than low on agreeableness. Despite significant main effects of agreeableness and productivity uncertainty on contributions to the public good, the findings of this experiment show that the degree of agreeableness does not explain the impact of productivity uncertainty on cooperation. However, the study provides several explanations and suggests directions for future research to better understand the influence of agreeableness and productivity uncertainty on cooperation.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

Cooperation in Social Dilemmas: The Impact of Productivity Uncertainty and Agreeableness on Contributions to the Public Good