The Good of Rules: A pilot study on prosocial behavior

Abstract

In everyday life, individuals interact with relatives, friends, and colleagues, share ideas and passions, and cooperate with others to pursue common goals. Within each social domain, individuals recognize themselves as group members with rights and duties to observe. Encouraging mutually beneficial cooperation and promoting fairness perceptions are crucial for sustainable economic and societal development. This paper presents a pilot experiment named Good of Rules, an educational program for 11-year-old children from South Italy. The program introduces participants to institutions, legality, and social cohesion. Among other didactic activities, it includes two field trips to symbolic places and a role-playing game. The results suggest that the program attendance positively affects cooperation in a one-shot N-player Prisoner's Dilemma and altruism in a Dictator Game. Our findings contribute to the nature-nurture debate, showing that learning the benefits associated with prosocial behavior can be effective in pursuing the common good.