Jan 28, 2025 01:07 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1071571
INTRO: How would you react if someone cut in line behind you? Some people will warn others to follow the rules, even if it does not affect them. This is known as altruistic punishment, the act of punishing others for selfish behavior without reciprocal benefit.
Previous studies on altruistic punishment often placed participants in unnatural settings where they were compelled to observe the selfishness of others and decided whether to punish them. In reality, there are times when avoidance of such a situation takes precedence over confronting unfairness. In other words, a person could pretend they did not notice someone cutting in line behind them. Recent research suggests that when people have a choice about whether to witness the selfish actions of others, they are more likely to avoid it.
Based on this, graduate student Kodai Mitsuishi and Associate Professor Yuta Kawamura at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Sustainable System Sciences investigated whether the avoidance of witnessing selfish behavior is to evade administering punishment or because people don’t want to deal with this behavior. They developed a situation-selective third-party punishment game (SS-TPPG) for this study.
[...] “In the future, we need to further consider what factors are suppressing people’s selfishness and maintaining a cooperative society without altruistic punishment,” concluded Professor Kawamura.(MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: How would you react if someone cut in line behind you? Some people will warn others to follow the rules, even if it does not affect them. This is known as altruistic punishment, the act of punishing others for selfish behavior without reciprocal benefit.
Previous studies on altruistic punishment often placed participants in unnatural settings where they were compelled to observe the selfishness of others and decided whether to punish them. In reality, there are times when avoidance of such a situation takes precedence over confronting unfairness. In other words, a person could pretend they did not notice someone cutting in line behind them. Recent research suggests that when people have a choice about whether to witness the selfish actions of others, they are more likely to avoid it.
Based on this, graduate student Kodai Mitsuishi and Associate Professor Yuta Kawamura at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Sustainable System Sciences investigated whether the avoidance of witnessing selfish behavior is to evade administering punishment or because people don’t want to deal with this behavior. They developed a situation-selective third-party punishment game (SS-TPPG) for this study.
[...] “In the future, we need to further consider what factors are suppressing people’s selfishness and maintaining a cooperative society without altruistic punishment,” concluded Professor Kawamura.(MORE - details, no ads)