Many problems in the world are social dilemmas wherein uncertainty whether collective efforts are effective is a threat to cooperation. This experiment investigates whether productivity uncertainty...Show moreMany problems in the world are social dilemmas wherein uncertainty whether collective efforts are effective is a threat to cooperation. This experiment investigates whether productivity uncertainty undermines cooperation because people who distrust institutions and are overconfident estimate a public good to be unproductive. We did this by presenting people with two public good games. Productivity uncertainty was manipulated by telling respondents in one of the games that all contributions could be wasted. Although the results show that productivity uncertainty undermines cooperation, no support was found for the before mentioned underlying mechanisms. Future research with different methodology could encounter other results.Show less
Individuals often experience uncertainty about the productivity of Public Goods (PG), causing them to face the possibility that the PG is either high or low in productivity. This study examined the...Show moreIndividuals often experience uncertainty about the productivity of Public Goods (PG), causing them to face the possibility that the PG is either high or low in productivity. This study examined the impact of such productivity uncertainty on cooperation and investigated whether risk propensity moderated this relation. It also explored the effect on cooperation when the productivity is so low that contributing would imply a loss. Participants (N=120) played public good games which varied in levels of uncertainty. Findings revealed that risk seekers (high risk propensity) contribute more than risk avoiders (low risk propensity) in games with uncertainty without potential loss than in games without such uncertainty (baseline game). Furthermore, both risk seekers and risk avoiders contribute less to games with uncertainty with potential loss compared to the baseline game. The potential for loss strongly impacts cooperation decisions, and risk propensity predicts cooperation in situations of uncertainty without potential loss.Show less
