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Article

Strong, bold and kind: Self-control and cooperation in social dilemmas

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Citation

Kocher M, Martinsson P, Myrseth KO & Wollbrant C (2017) Strong, bold and kind: Self-control and cooperation in social dilemmas. Experimental Economics, 20 (1), pp. 44-69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-015-9475-7

Abstract
We develop a model that relates self-control to cooperation patterns in social dilemmas, and we test the model in a laboratory public goods experiment. As predicted, we find a robust association between stronger self-control and higher levels of cooperation, and the association is at its strongest when the decision maker¡¯s risk aversion is low and the cooperation levels of others high. We interpret the pattern as evidence for the notion that individuals may experience an impulse to act in self-interest¡ªand that cooperative behavior benefits from self-control. Free-riders differ from other contributor types only in their tendency not to have identified a self-control conflict in the first place.

Keywords
experiment; public good; self-control; cooperation; risk;

Journal
Experimental Economics: Volume 20, Issue 1

StatusPublished
FundersSwedish Research Council
Publication date31/03/2017
Publication date online28/01/2016
Date accepted by journal15/12/2015
URL
ISSN1386-4157
eISSN1573-6938

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