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In some situations, cooperation is dominant, whereas in others, competition is. Factors such as personalities of the individuals, volume of communication, size of the group, and reciprocity of actions determine whether individuals compete or cooperate in a social situation. These factors have been the focus of research conducted in laboratory game simulations of everyday situations. In the game theory approach, there are two kinds of games of interest to social psychologists: zero-sum and non-zero-sum. In zero-sum games, the total gains and losses equal zero. For example, in chess or tennis there is a winner and a loser. In non-zero-sum games, the sum of the payoffs is not zero. There is value in cooperation in non-zero-sum games, since, if both players cooperate, both can gain and no one has to lose. Two non-zero-sum games are described below.
The trucking game was developed by Deutsch and Krauss (1960) to explore the bargaining behavior of individuals in a social situation. Each player owns a trucking company and tries to make a shipment as quickly as possible. Each has a long route to the destination as well as a short route that converges into a one-lane road. In order to use the short-cut (and make "money") the players have to cooperate and take turns using the road. However, each person also has control of a gate to prevent the other trucking company from using the road. The best strategy is to cooperate, and yet the researchers found that when the players had a weapon (the gate), the majority of the time was spent competing and threatening the other. In the prisoner's dilemma, two prisoners are isolated and each is accused of a crime. If neither prisoner confesses, each receives a light sentence of 1 year of imprisonment; if both confess, each receives a heavy sentence of 10 years. If one confesses but the other does not, the one who confesses is given a very light sentence of 3 months and the other receives a very heavy sentence of 20 years. There is an advantage for both prisoners in cooperating and remaining silent, thereby guaranteeing both a relatively light sentence; but, over a series of trials, personal gain favors competition: by confessing and hoping the other person does not, one of the two might obtain the lightest possible sentence. Typically, subjects also show competition in this game. These games illustrate the factors that determine whether an individual competes or cooperates. Some research suggests that Americans are especially competitive, and that this characteristic is learned during childhood (Werner, 1979). There are personality differences, with some people always competing, some always cooperating, and some following the other person's lead (they begin by cooperating, but will compete if the other person does). Communication is also an important factor. Wichman (1970) found that when there was no communication between individuals in the prisoner's dilemma, about 40 percent of the responses were cooperative, but if verbal communication were allowed, the cooperation level increased to around 70 percent. The size of the group also makes a difference. When the prisoner's dilemma was modified so groups could play, researchers found that as the size of group increased, cooperation decreased (Komorita & Lapworth, 1982). Reciprocity also plays a role, and many people will go along with whatever strategy another person begins. Cooperation and competition are important forces in today's world and social psychologists are attempting to understand how groups, and even nations, can learn to increase cooperation. |
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