Most people significantly underestimate how willing others are to cooperate for the common good, according to new research.
The study, published by researchers from Germany’s universities of Bonn and Frankfurt in the journal Science in June, is based on behavioural science experiments involving more than 100,000 people from 125 representative country samples.
The University of Bonn say it is the first of its kind to examine human cooperation on a globally representative basis.
The researchers say that cooperation is a fundamental prerequisite for societal wellbeing. Many challenges can only be overcome if people are willing to contribute to the common good beyond their own self-interest.
At the heart of the study was a standardized experiment conducted identically across all countries. Each participant was paired with an unknown person from their own country and asked to choose between two options.
The “do not cooperate” option guaranteed a return of $100, while the “cooperate” option yielded only $70. However, if both participants — independently and without consulting each other — chose to cooperate, an additional $400 was donated to climate change initiatives. Participants thus faced a choice between a higher personal payout and a community-oriented one.
A clear majority of participants — 69% on average — were willing to forgo a higher personal sum in favour of contributing to climate measures. However, participants systematically underestimated the willingness of others to cooperate.
While actual global cooperation stood at 69%, respondents expected on average only 47% of others to do so. This pessimistic misperception was found in 124 of 125 countries, making it nearly universal. The researchers therefore conclude that “as a species, we are more cooperative than we ourselves believe.”
“My suspicion is that we do have a tendency to see the glass as half empty,” said Armin Falk of the University of Bonn, one of the study’s authors, in an interview with dpa. “That would fit with a basic pessimism that is often remarked upon.”
For Falk, however, the most important takeaway from the study is this: “If we were less pessimistic — and therefore more realistic — we could live in a better world.” He said many people fall into a cognitive self-deception by viewing others too negatively. “And in doing so, we weaken ourselves.”