Cooperation across multiple game theoretical paradigms is increased by fear more than anger in selfish individuals

G Chierchia,T Singer,F H Parianen Lesemann,D Snower

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-88663-0

Abstract

Cooperative decisions are well predicted by stable individual differences in social values but it remains unclear how they may be modulated by emotions such as fear and anger. Moving beyond specific decision paradigms, we used a suite of economic games and investigated how experimental inductions of fear or anger affect latent factors of decision making in individuals with selfish or prosocial value orientations. We found that, relative to experimentally induced anger, induced fear elicited higher scores on a cooperation factor, and that this effect was entirely driven by selfish participants. In fact, induced fear brought selfish individuals to cooperate similarly to prosocial individuals, possibly as a (selfish) mean to seek protection in others. These results suggest that two basic threat-related emotions, fear and anger, differentially affect a generalized form of cooperation and that this effect is buffered by prosocial value orientation.

Highlights

Cooperative decisions are well predicted by stable individual differences in social values but it remains unclear how they may be modulated by emotions such as fear and anger
Both inter-individual differences in disposition to experience fear and anger[18,19,20], as well as experimental inductions of fear and anger[21,22,23,24,25,26], have been shown to oppositely affect judgment and decision making, with fear contributing to avoidance, and anger to approach of risk in non social decisions
To assess generalizable results across decision paradigms and individuals, we aimed to compare the impact of induced fear and anger on latent factors of cooperation and punishment using a suite of game-theoretical paradigms and we proposed that the impact of such emotions should be primarily be observed in subjects that do not have already have strong cooperative value orientations to counteract them

Summary

Introduction

Cooperative decisions are well predicted by stable individual differences in social values but it remains unclear how they may be modulated by emotions such as fear and anger. Both inter-individual differences in disposition to experience fear and anger[18,19,20], as well as experimental inductions of fear and anger[21,22,23,24,25,26], have been shown to oppositely affect judgment and decision making, with fear contributing to avoidance, and anger to approach of risk in non social decisions It is unclear how this may extend to social decisions, such as those related to cooperation and p unishment[27]. Some studies focused on cooperative decisions that involved uncertainty of reciprocation (e.g., trusting others)[39,45,47], while other studies did Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:9351

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