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Until now, it was considered certain that people are more likely to cooperate if the benefits from cooperation are higher. A recently published, large-scale study involving researchers from Innsbruck has now called this finding into question: in over 2,000 study participants, the researchers found no relationship between benefits from cooperation and willingness to cooperate.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences challenges long-held assumptions about human cooperation. Traditionally, behavioral scientists and economists have primarily studied cooperation in public good contexts through repeated interactions, where individuals can build trust and reciprocal relationships, adjusting their behavior based on the actions of others.

However, many real-world, naturally occurring situations, such as volunteering or donating to crisis relief efforts, are one-time decisions with no obvious future interactions or relationships to consider.

This new study, co-authored by Dr. Natalie Struwe and Prof. Esther Blanco from the University of Innsbruck with Prof. James Walker from Indiana University, explored how individuals cooperate when they only have one opportunity to cooperate in a social group, not knowing the identity of other group members.

Two large-scale experiments

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