The Role of Personal Values and Empathy in a Cooperative Game

Authors

  • Jieyu LV Queen Mary University of London
  • Michael J. Proulx Department of Psychology, University of Bath
  • Magda Osman Queen Mary University of London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24297/jssr.v9i2.3782

Keywords:

Empathy, Cooperation, Value, Public Goods Game, tit-for-tat strategy

Abstract

Are the personal values of others a relevant cue when thinking about cooperating, and do values matter more than empathizing with others? To address these questions, the present study presented participants (N = 120) with the details of personal values (social values [e.g., family, friends] or economic values [e.g., phone, bike]) held by fictitious players of a linear public goods game (PGG). In addition, half those tested were induced to empathize with the other players via presenting perspective-taking instructions (empathy induction), and the other half were not. For those that believed they were interacting with real players in a cooperative game (n=70) values did indeed matter. Participants acted more cooperatively in the Social Value condition as compared to the Economic Value condition when there was empathy induction. While empathy induction (perspective-taking instructions) made little difference to levels of cooperation, it did reduce the use of the tit-for-tat strategy in the game. These findings present some challenges to recent work promoting the role of empathy in pro-social behaviors

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2015-10-22

How to Cite

LV, J., Proulx, M. J., & Osman, M. (2015). The Role of Personal Values and Empathy in a Cooperative Game. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH, 9(2), 1834–1844. https://doi.org/10.24297/jssr.v9i2.3782

Issue

Section

Articles