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Transition from reciprocal cooperation to persistent behaviour in social dilemmas at the end of adolescence

Author

Listed:
  • Mario Gutiérrez-Roig

    (Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Carlos Gracia-Lázaro

    (Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), Universidad de Zaragoza)

  • Josep Perelló

    (Departament de Física Fonamental, Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Yamir Moreno

    (Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), Universidad de Zaragoza
    Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza
    Complex Networks and Systems Lagrange Lab, Institute for Scientific Interchange)

  • Angel Sánchez

    (Instituto de Biocomputación y Física de Sistemas Complejos (BIFI), Universidad de Zaragoza
    Grupo Interdisciplinar de Sistemas Complejos (GISC), Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

Abstract

While human societies are extraordinarily cooperative in comparison with other social species, the question of why we cooperate with unrelated individuals remains open. Here we report results of a lab-in-the-field experiment with people of different ages in a social dilemma. We find that the average amount of cooperativeness is independent of age except for the elderly, who cooperate more, and a behavioural transition from reciprocal, but more volatile behaviour to more persistent actions towards the end of adolescence. Although all ages react to the cooperation received in the previous round, young teenagers mostly respond to what they see in their neighbourhood regardless of their previous actions. Decisions then become more predictable through midlife, when the act of cooperating or not is more likely to be repeated. Our results show that mechanisms such as reciprocity, which is based on reacting to previous actions, may promote cooperation in general, but its influence can be hindered by the fluctuating behaviour in the case of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario Gutiérrez-Roig & Carlos Gracia-Lázaro & Josep Perelló & Yamir Moreno & Angel Sánchez, 2014. "Transition from reciprocal cooperation to persistent behaviour in social dilemmas at the end of adolescence," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-7, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms5362
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5362
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    Cited by:

    1. Gerard J. Van den Berg & Iris Kesternich & Gerrit Müller & Bettina Siflinger, 2019. "Reciprocity and the Interaction between the Unemployed and the Caseworker," CESifo Working Paper Series 7947, CESifo.
    2. Praxmarer, Matthias & Rockenbach, Bettina & Sutter, Matthias, 2024. "Cooperation and norm enforcement differ strongly across adult generations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    3. Guilherme Ferraz de Arruda & Giovanni Petri & Pablo Martin Rodriguez & Yamir Moreno, 2023. "Multistability, intermittency, and hybrid transitions in social contagion models on hypergraphs," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Daniele Vilone & John Realpe-Gómez & Giulia Andrighetto, 2021. "Evolutionary advantages of turning points in human cooperative behaviour," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, February.

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