Does Goal-Demotion Enhance Cooperation?
Social scientists have long assumed that religion – and more specifically religious rituals – promotes cooperation. It has also been claimed that ritual plays an essential role in enhancing prosociality and cooperation. In this study, using a controlled laboratory experiment, we investigate if a con...
Authors: | ; ; |
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Contributors: | |
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
2014
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In: |
Journal of cognition and culture
Year: 2014, Volume: 14, Issue: 3/4, Pages: 263-272 |
Further subjects: | B
Trust
cooperation
goal-demotion
public goods experiment
religion
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Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | Social scientists have long assumed that religion – and more specifically religious rituals – promotes cooperation. It has also been claimed that ritual plays an essential role in enhancing prosociality and cooperation. In this study, using a controlled laboratory experiment, we investigate if a conspicuous and recurrent feature of collective ritualized behaviour, goal-demotion, promotes lasting cooperation. We report that goal-directed collective behaviour is more efficient than goal-demoted behaviour for motivating participants to engage in ulterior cooperation. Plausible interpretations of the data and of the mechanisms involved are discussed. |
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ISSN: | 1568-5373 |
Contains: | In: Journal of cognition and culture
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685373-12342124 |