Stuck With You: A Framework for Investigating Social Interdependence as a Source of Cooperative Motives

• In Event: 1-091 - A Cross-Cultural Exploration of the Role of Interdependence in Children’s Cooperative Motivations

Integrative Statement

The prevalence and flexibility of human cooperation is unparalleled by any other species (Melis & Semmann, 2010; Silk, 2009; Tomasello, 2009). In recent decades, a great deal of research in psychology, evolutionary theory and experimental economics has been devoted to investigating the phylo- and ontogenetic origins of human cooperation (Henrich & Henrich, 2007; Nowak, 2012; Tomasello, 2009; West, Griffin, & Gardner, 2007). One central theme that has emerged from this research is that social interdependence may be an important (evolutionary and psychological) source of motives and expectations which help to stabilize cooperation (Roberts, 2005; Rusch & Luetge, 2016; Tomasello et al., 2012).
One key starting point in exploring this theme is Roberts’ (2005) ‘interdependence hypothesis.’ According to this hypothesis, characteristically human cooperation arose in a period in which our ancestors lived in small groups of individuals whose interests were largely interdependent, and for whom it was therefore not typically beneficial to act selfishly to the determinant of other group members. In other words, human cooperation is a byproduct of earlier selection for skills in collaboration. This general hypothesis about the evolutionary origins of cooperation is consistent with a range of distinct hypotheses about the psychological mechanisms by which social interdependence may stabilize cooperation. This is because cooperation depends upon a suite of motivations and expectations, any one (or several) of which may be supported by (cues to) social interdependence: for cooperation to succeed, people must be willing to invest time, effort and other resources, to resist temptations and distractions, to comply with shared norms (e.g. fair division of labour and of spoils), and they must also expect their cooperation partners to do the same.
The current contribution develops a framework to structure ongoing research investigating the psychological implications of the interdependence hypothesis. The core of this framework is a distinction between two distinct but compatible psychological mechanismswhich may mediate between cues to social interdependence, on the one hand, and cooperation on the other. The first of these, the sense of commitment, is hypothesized as a mechanism which stabilizes people’s motivation to invest time, effort and other resources in contributing to others’ goals and to shared goals, while resisting distractions and tempting alternatives. The second is trust, which may be defined as a mechanism that stabilizes the expectation that one’s partner(s) will remain committed.
Using this distinction, I review and evaluate recent developmental and cross-cultural research investigating the psychological mechanisms by which social interdependence may serve to stabilize cooperation. In particular, I evaluate the developmental relationship between the sense of commitment and trust. As we shall see, current findings suggest that cues to social interdependence may trigger the sense of commitment even before they have a similar effect on trust, and that a sense of commitment may be crucial for the development of an understanding of the social norms stabilizing cooperation.

Author

• John Michael, University of Warwick; Central European University
  Presenting Author