title: Third-Party Cooperation: How Reducing Material Involvement Enhances Contributions to the Public Good.
abstract: Decisions to cooperate are often delegated to a third party. We examined whether cooperation differs when decisions are made for a third party compared with ourselves and specified which motives are important for third-party cooperation. Participants played multiple rounds of a public goods game (PGG). In Study 1, we varied personal involvement from high to low; participants played for themselves (Self), for themselves and a third party (Shared), and solely for a third party (Third Party). Participants contributed most when personal involvement was lowest (i.e., Third Party) and least when personal involvement was high (i.e., Self). Study 2 explored if social motives underlie third-party cooperation by comparing cooperation with social (human) and non-social (computer) group members. Reducing personal involvement in the PGG (i.e., Third Party) increased cooperation in social contexts compared with non-social contexts, indicating enhanced collective interest. Increased cooperation for a third party may result from taking the other's perspective, thereby increasing social norm preferences.
authors: Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands University of Vienna, Austria annabel.losecaat.vermeer@univie.ac.at.
authors: Annabel B
authors: AB
authors: Losecaat Vermeer
authors: University College Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors: Roeland L
authors: RL
authors: Heerema
authors: Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors: Alan G
authors: AG
authors: Sanfey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D066262:Social Norms; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: cooperation; perspective-taking; self–other; social decision making; third party