Cooperation is ubiquitous yet challenging to maintain. Individuals frequently engage in actions that contribute to the success and prosperity of the collective, despite it being personally costly in terms of time, effort, or money. For instance, colleagues exchange valuable knowledge, consumers sort waste for reuse, and citizens provide for state-controlled public goods and services by paying their taxes. However, because the benefits of such cooperative actions are shared collectively, there is a) an incentive to exploit the contributions of others and b) the threat of falling victim to such exploitation by others. Thus, exploitation can jeopardize cooperation if there is no mechanism to maintain it. My research aims to understand which, when, and why mechanisms can maintain cooperation.
To steer people’s behavior, you first need to understand what drives them.