Cooperation in social dilemmas: Social norms and cognitive processes

ORTIZ MV; REYNA CE

Psykhe

Escuela de Psicología de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Lugar: Santiago de Chile; Año: 2019 vol. 28 p. 1 - 21

0717-0297

The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of social norms and cognitive processes in cooperative decisions in freshmen in Psychology at the National University of Cordoba (Argentina). We conducted two studies which included a total of 196 students. In both of them, we used a factorial design, implemented in two phases: (a) cooperative environment and non-cooperative environment, using specifics matrices and interactions in repetitive rounds of the Prisoner´s Dilemma Game; (b) time response conditions (with or without time pressure) (Study 1) or cognitive load conditions (high or low cognitive load) (Study 2). In this stage the participants played repetitive rounds of the Prisoner´s Dilemma Game and the Public Goods Game. The level of cooperation in the second stage was the main dependent variable. The results showed that manipulation for the generation of different social norm environments was not effective. Different effects in cooperation could be observed, depending on the different indicators of the cognitive processes. We discussed the results in the context of current research on cooperation.