Everyone can have an impact on the dynamics of a group, particularly if they join forces with others

Thursday, October 30, 2014 - 06:30 in Psychology & Sociology

How do we as individuals prompt our fellow humans to behave socially? This is one of the central questions relating to social dilemmas in game theory. Previous studies assumed that it is almost impossible to control cooperation in large groups. Nonetheless, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology have now demonstrated that each of us can exert an influence on the cooperative behaviour of others. However, the possibilities available to the individual are limited in this regard, particularly in the context of large groups. The researchers therefore also examined how group success is influenced when several like-minded members join forces. The mathematically calculated result corroborates experience: we can achieve more when we act together.

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