156
8 How Society Works
of experimental computer tournaments published in 1981.
5 It turns out that, if people
interact frequently enough, a cooperative behavior is more beneficial than an exploitative strategy. As a consequence, “direct reciprocity” will result, where both parties
act according to the principle “if you help me, I’ll help you”. But what if the friendship becomes so close that others are disadvantaged? This could lead to corruption
and barriers preventing other people from competing fairly. In an economic market,
this could result in inefficiency and higher prices.
In addition, what should we do if we interact with someone only once, for example,
on a one-off project such as the renovation of a flat? Are such interactions doomed
to be uncooperative and inefficient? And what should we do if a social dilemma
involves many players? In such cases, a tit-for-tat strategy is too simple because we
don’t know who cheated whom.
8.5 Costly Punishment
For such reasons, further social mechanisms have emerged, including “altruistic
punishment”. As Ernst Fehr and Simon Gächter have shown in 2002,
6 if players
can punish others, this will promote cooperation, even if the punishment is costly.
Indeed, if people can choose between a world without sanctions and a world where
misbehavior can be punished, many decide for the second option, as evidenced by
experimental research conducted in 2006 by Özgür Gürek, Bernd Irlenbusch and
Bettina Rockenbach.
7 Punishment played a particularly important role in the beginning of the experiment. Later on, people behaved more cooperatively, and although
punitive sanctions became rare, they were nevertheless important as a deterrent.
Note that punishment by “peers”, as it was studied in these experiments, is a very
widespread social mechanism. In particular, it is used to establish and maintain social
norms, i.e. certain behavioral rules. Every one of us exercises peer punishment many
times a day—perhaps in a mild way by raising eyebrows, or perhaps more assertively
by criticizing others or engaging into conflict, which is often costly for both sides.
8.6 The Birth of Moral Behavior
But why do we punish others at all, if this is costly, while others benefit from the
resulting cooperation? This scientific puzzle is known as “second-order free-rider
dilemma”. The term “free-rider” is used for someone who benefits from a collective
good without contributing. “First-order free-riders” are people who don’t cooperate,
while “second-order free-riders” are people who don’t punish the misdeeds of others.
5 Axelrod and Hamilton [2].
6 Fehr and Gächter [3].
7 G¨ urerk et al. [4].
8 How Society Works
of experimental computer tournaments published in 1981.
5 It turns out that, if people
interact frequently enough, a cooperative behavior is more beneficial than an exploitative strategy. As a consequence, “direct reciprocity” will result, where both parties
act according to the principle “if you help me, I’ll help you”. But what if the friendship becomes so close that others are disadvantaged? This could lead to corruption
and barriers preventing other people from competing fairly. In an economic market,
this could result in inefficiency and higher prices.
In addition, what should we do if we interact with someone only once, for example,
on a one-off project such as the renovation of a flat? Are such interactions doomed
to be uncooperative and inefficient? And what should we do if a social dilemma
involves many players? In such cases, a tit-for-tat strategy is too simple because we
don’t know who cheated whom.
8.5 Costly Punishment
For such reasons, further social mechanisms have emerged, including “altruistic
punishment”. As Ernst Fehr and Simon Gächter have shown in 2002,
6 if players
can punish others, this will promote cooperation, even if the punishment is costly.
Indeed, if people can choose between a world without sanctions and a world where
misbehavior can be punished, many decide for the second option, as evidenced by
experimental research conducted in 2006 by Özgür Gürek, Bernd Irlenbusch and
Bettina Rockenbach.
7 Punishment played a particularly important role in the beginning of the experiment. Later on, people behaved more cooperatively, and although
punitive sanctions became rare, they were nevertheless important as a deterrent.
Note that punishment by “peers”, as it was studied in these experiments, is a very
widespread social mechanism. In particular, it is used to establish and maintain social
norms, i.e. certain behavioral rules. Every one of us exercises peer punishment many
times a day—perhaps in a mild way by raising eyebrows, or perhaps more assertively
by criticizing others or engaging into conflict, which is often costly for both sides.
8.6 The Birth of Moral Behavior
But why do we punish others at all, if this is costly, while others benefit from the
resulting cooperation? This scientific puzzle is known as “second-order free-rider
dilemma”. The term “free-rider” is used for someone who benefits from a collective
good without contributing. “First-order free-riders” are people who don’t cooperate,
while “second-order free-riders” are people who don’t punish the misdeeds of others.
5 Axelrod and Hamilton [2].
6 Fehr and Gächter [3].
7 G¨ urerk et al. [4].