A prisoner's dilemma experiment on cooperation with people and human-like computers.
The authors investigated basic properties of social exchange and interaction with technology in an experiment on cooperation with a human-like computer partner or a real human partner. Talking with a computer partner may trigger social identity feelings or commitment norms. Participants played a prisoner's dilemma game with a confederate or a computer partner. Discussion, inducements to make promises, and partner cooperation varied across trials. On Trial 1, after discussion, most participants proposed cooperation. They kept their promises as much with a text-only computer as with a person, but less with a more human-like computer. Cooperation dropped sharply when any partner avoided discussion. The strong impact of discussion fits a social contract explanation of cooperation following discussion. Participants broke their promises to a computer more than to a person, however, indicating that people make heterogeneous commitments.
Kiesler
S
S
Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-3890, USA.
Sproull
L
L
Waters
K
K
D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*