The Impact of Praise on Cooperative Behavior in Three-Player Public Goods Games and Its Gender Differences

TL;DR

This study explores how praise affects cooperation in a public goods game, finding that praise increases contributions and influences group behavior.

Contribution

The study introduces praise as a dynamic factor influencing cooperative behavior in social dilemmas, revealing its impact on both praised and non-praised individuals.

Findings

Praise significantly increases contribution changes in a three-player public goods game.

Publicly praised individuals show varied behavior changes, while non-praised individuals in the same group show positive changes.

Rule comprehension positively predicts contribution changes, with more correct answers leading to greater increases in contributions.

Abstract

Previous research has primarily focused on static factors influencing cooperative behavior in social dilemmas, with less attention given to dynamic factors within group social interactions, such as positive feedback received during interactions, i.e., praise. This study, through a between-subjects online experiment with a single-factor, two-level design (praise: public praise/no praise), investigates the impact of praise on cooperative behavior changes across two rounds of a three-player public goods problem. Results revealed the following: (1) A positive correlation between individuals’ contributions across two rounds and a negative correlation with the number of correct answers in rule comprehension questions were evident; for men, a correlation between rule comprehension and first-round contributions was observed. (2) Multilevel model results showed that praise, role, and rule comprehension significantly positively affected contribution changes across two rounds; gender did not significantly affect contribution changes. Specifically, under public-praise conditions, contribution changes were greater. Publicly praised individuals showed positive or negative behavior changes, while those not praised in the same group showed positive changes. Men contributed significantly more in the first round than women, with no gender difference found in contribution changes. Rule comprehension positively predicted contribution changes, indicating that more correct answers led to greater positive changes in contributions. These results not only support the inferential social learning perspective, suggesting that through praise, individuals can infer external world perceptions and self-evaluations, affecting both the praised (positively or negatively) and positively influencing non-praised individuals in the same group, but also provide a theoretical basis and intervention strategies for team and organizational management in groups.

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