Intergroup Competition Research Articles

Social Group Dynamics and Its Role in the Phenomenon of Bullying in Secondary Schools

This study aims to analyze the dynamics of social groups and their role in the phenomenon of bullying in secondary schools. The main focus is to understand how interactions between groups, social norms, and hierarchical structures within groups affect the prevalence and forms of bullying. The method used is a qualitative approach with a systematic literature review. Relevant sources were identified through academic databases using specific keywords, then evaluated and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of the study indicate that social group dynamics play a significant role in the phenomenon of bullying. Rigid hierarchical group structures, norms that support dominance, and intergroup competition tend to increase the risk of bullying. Conversely, groups with more egalitarian structures and inclusive values tend to show lower levels of bullying. The role of group leaders and bystanders was also found to be crucial in shaping responses to bullying. Contextual factors such as school transitions and the use of social media also influence the dynamics of bullying. Analysis using Social Identity Theory and Social Control Theory revealed that bullying is often rooted in the need to strengthen group identity and respond to weak social ties. These findings emphasize the importance of a holistic approach in bullying prevention and intervention efforts, which considers the complexity of group dynamics and the broader social context.

Why hospitals hire tobacco lobbyists: conflicts of interest among lobbyists’ clients

Abstract Lobbyists sometimes represent clients with seemingly adversarial policy interests. We seek to explain the occurrence of such ostensible conflicts of interest. In hiring lobbyists, interests encounter a tradeoff between access and agency. Although some lobbyists promise access to lawmakers, they may not lobby as contracted. Interests hire seemingly conflicted lobbyists more often when access is costlier and reputational risks are smaller. We examine the hiring of tobacco lobbyists by health interests, given the possibilities for shirking and reputational damage. We find that institutions such as hospitals hire tobacco lobbyists regularly and more often than membership-based health groups. Intergroup competition for access and lobby laws, especially anti-conflict laws, affect the use of tobacco lobbyists independent of rates of multi-client lobbying. Conflicts are more common today than ever but interests can protect themselves somewhat from opportunistic agents. Our findings also suggest that reforms can improve the representation of client interests.

Injecting competition into online programming and Chinese- English translation classrooms.

The introduction of competition has the potential to enhance the efficacy of students' learning performance. Nevertheless, there have been contradictory findings about the impact of intergroup competition on students' learning performance and engagement. Therefore, further comprehensive investigations for this problem are necessary. In order to bridge this gap, the present study seeks to ascertain the efficacy of intergroup competition in relation to students' academic performance and motivation. Consequently, we present the concept of intergroup competition and implement it within the context of an online programming course and an online Chinese-English translation course. The participants of this study consist of sophomore students majoring in Computer Science and English. Initially, a total of 108 sophomore students majoring in Computer Science participated. Then, a total of 100 sophomore students majoring in English participated. A quasi-experimental study was subsequently undertaken to compare students from two courses, which are online programming and Chinese-English translation, assigning them to an experimental group and a comparison group, respectively. Then, we conducted independent samples t-tests to measure the difference between the academic performance of the two group of students from two courses. The results indicate that both groups of students who were exposed to the intergroup competition mechanism demonstrated considerably higher levels of academic performance and engagement compared to the other group of students. The findings indicate that the competition mechanism, has the potential to be a beneficial instrument for enhancing both students' learning performance and motivation.

Nutrient competition between female cones and young seeds in spring affects the physiological dropping and nut-setting rate in Torreya grandis.

Physiological seed drop is a recognized phenomenon in economic forest, caused by the abscission of developing seeds due to intergroup competition for resources. However, little is known about the resource allocation dynamics in species exhibiting a biennial fruiting cycle, where interactions occur not only among seeds of the same year but also between reproductive structures from consecutive years. In this study, we explored the dynamics of resource allocation in Torreya grandis, a nut crop with a prototypical two-year seed development pattern. We implemented thinning treatments of 0%, 30%, and 60% on female cones and/or immature seeds during the spring, targeting various stages of development both pre- and post-pollination. Our findings reveal a pronounced resource competition in Torreya, evidenced by a natural seed-setting rate of merely 9.4%. Contrary to expectations, seed thinning did not lead to an obvious increase in nut-setting rates, whereas a substantial increase to 20.5% was observed when female cones were thinned by 60% at 20 days before pollination. The cone thinning treatment appears to have influenced seed development through positive cytokinin and negative abscisic acid effects. This indicates that intergroup competition between female cones and nuts is a more significant factor in seed drop than inner nut competition, and there seems to be an interaction between the two groups. We demonstrate that, in Torreya with biennial seed development, it is the competition between female cones and immature seeds that is important. This insight expands our comprehension of the physiological mechanisms governing seed drop in biennial fruiting species and managing the reproductive organ load to optimize nutrient allocation.

Enhancement of joint flanker effect in intergroup competition.

Representing the mental state of the partner lays the foundation for successful social interaction. While the representation of group members has been extensively studied, it is unclear how intergroup interactions affect it. In three experiments utilizing the joint flanker task, we found that competition between groups brought about a greater joint flanker effect (Experiment 1). Such phenomenon was not due to competition per se, as competition that occurred between individuals from different groups did not enhance the joint flanker effect (Experiment 2). Using the minimal grouping method to directly manipulate group entitativity, we found that the joint flanker effect was larger when participants perceived the group as being more closely connected; conversely, when they perceived the group as less close, the joint flanker effect was attenuated (Experiment 3). These results suggested that beliefs about the group may be key to how group competition enhanced the joint flanker effect. The potential cognitive mechanisms producing this phenomenon are fully discussed. Overall, our study is the first to explore the impact of intergroup interactions on the joint flanker effect and provides a new perspective on understanding the relationship between within-group representations and intergroup interactions.

Increased alertness and moderate ingroup cohesion in bonobos' response to outgroup cues.

In a number of species, including humans, perceived outgroup threat can promote ingroup cohesion. However, the distribution and selection history of this association across species with varied intergroup relations remains unclear. Using a sample of 8 captive groups (N = 43 individuals), we here tested whether bonobos, like chimpanzees, show more affiliative ingroup behaviour following perception of outgroup cues (unfamiliar male long-distance vocalisations). We used comparable methods to our previous study of captive chimpanzees, and found that, although weaker, there was an association for more frequent social grooming in response to the outgroup condition than the control condition, alongside more alert posture and increased self-directed behaviour. This provides preliminary evidence for an ancestral origin to the proximate association between outgroup cues and ingroup cohesion, at least prior to the Pan-Homo split, and suggests the presence of intergroup competition in our last common ancestor.

Evolution of cooperation in a mixed cooperative–competitive structured population

Cooperation and competition are two pivotal topics in the literature on the evolutionary dynamics of individual behavior on social networks. This study provides a perspective of joint analysis of social dilemmas within groups and inter-group competition in a mixed cooperative–competitive structured population. Although specific mechanisms for interpreting the emergence and promotion of cooperation have been proposed, including reward, punishment, reputation, and environmental factors, little is known about how inter-group competition affects the cooperation level of groups, especially the intensity and structures of competitive games. Based on multi-games, a mixed cooperative–competitive game model is proposed that individuals within a group engage in a donation game and those from different groups participate in competitive games. The results of numerical simulations suggest that the reward of inter-group competition serves as an external incentive, fostering cooperation within groups. As the intensity of competitive games increases, cooperation within groups is prompted. Additionally, strategic inter-group connections based on degree heterogeneity significantly enhance within-group cooperation, particularly when hubs from one group engage in competitive games with marginal nodes from another group. This research contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of cooperation within groups considering the impact of inter-group competition on within-group cooperation.

When population growth intensifies intergroup competition, female colobus monkeys free-ride less

Intergroup aggression often results in the production of public goods, such as a safe and stable social environment and a home range containing the resources required to survive and reproduce. We investigate temporal variation in intergroup aggression in a growing population of colobus monkeys (Colobus vellerosus) to ask a novel question: “Who stepped-up to produce these public goods when doing so became more difficult?”. Both whole-group encounters and male incursions occurred more frequently as the population grew. Males and females were both more likely to participate in whole-group encounters when monopolizable food resources were available, indicating both sexes engaged in food defence. However, only females increasingly did so as the population grew, suggesting that it was females who increasingly produced the public good of home range defence as intergroup competition intensified. Females were also more active in male incursions at high population densities, suggesting they increasingly produced the public good of a safe and stable social environment. This is not to say that males were chronic free-riders when it came to maintaining public goods. Males consistently participated in the majority of intergroup interactions throughout the study period, indicating they may have lacked the capacity to invest more time and effort.

The effect of intergroup competition outcome on ingroup cooperation: insights from the male warrior hypothesis

IntroductionThe Male Warrior Hypothesis (MWH) proposes that sex-specific selective pressures have promoted male cooperation with the ingroup members to outcompete rival groups. However, intergroup conflicts do not occur in isolation and the outcomes of previous competitions may influence group cooperativeness. Since this phenomenon is not well understood, we aimed to shed light on the effect of previous competition outcome on later cooperative behavior under intergroup conflicts. Based on the MWH, we hypothesized that repeated contests between groups could enhance ingroup cooperation, regardless of the outcome of the previous contest because status is at risk, but when competition is not present, participants would move to the symmetric equilibria.MethodsTo test this hypothesis, we recruited 246 individuals organized in groups of 6 and measured cooperation using a threshold public good game over two rounds, manipulating the outcome in the first round to create groups of winners and losers.ResultsOur results show that intergroup conflict scenarios promoted cooperation in both victory and defeat conditions, whereas, in the control scenario only losers increased their cooperation.DiscussionWe argue that winners under the presence of an external threat may enhance in-group cooperation in order to assure their status; whereas, losers may be attempting to regain it.

Investigating How High Perceived Economic Inequality Exacerbates Intergroup Competition, Zero-Sum Beliefs, and Perceived Intergroup Prejudice.

Rising economic inequality is associated with more prejudice. Little empirical data, however, investigate how inequality affects individuals' psychological processing and, in turn, exacerbates perceptions of prejudice in people's geographic area. We hypothesized that higher perceived economic inequality triggers beliefs that unequal economies are zero-sum and leads to beliefs that people are in competition for limited resources, which may ultimately exacerbate perceived prejudice. Through nine experiments (Studies 1-5 in the manuscript and three additional studies in the Supplement), we provide evidence that higher perceived inequality increases perceived prejudice against a wide range of outgroups. Furthermore, zero-sum beliefs and perceived competition serially mediate this relationship (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 4, we investigate nuance in this hypothesized model by testing whether higher perceived economic inequality exacerbates perceived racial/ethnic prejudice among a large, diverse sample and find a similar pattern of results. Finally (Study 5), we demonstrate that assuaging competition beliefs mitigates perceived prejudice.

Super-additive cooperation

Repeated interactions provide an evolutionary explanation for one-shot human cooperation that is counterintuitive but orthodox1–3. Intergroup competition4–7 provides an explanation that is intuitive but heterodox. Here, using models and a behavioural experiment, we show that neither mechanism reliably supports cooperation. Ambiguous reciprocity, a class of strategies that is generally ignored in models of reciprocal altruism, undermines cooperation under repeated interactions. This finding challenges repeated interactions as an evolutionary explanation for cooperation in general, which further challenges the claim that repeated interactions in the past can explain one-shot cooperation in the present. Intergroup competitions also do not reliably support cooperation because groups quickly become extremely similar, which limits scope for group selection. Moreover, even if groups vary, group competitions may generate little group selection for multiple reasons. Cooperative groups, for example, may tend to compete against each other8. Whereas repeated interactions and group competitions do not support cooperation by themselves, combining them triggers powerful synergies because group competitions constrain the corrosive effect of ambiguous reciprocity. Evolved strategies often consist of cooperative reciprocity with ingroup partners and uncooperative reciprocity with outgroup partners. Results from a behavioural experiment in Papua New Guinea fit exactly this pattern. They thus suggest neither an evolutionary history of repeated interactions without group competition nor a history of group competition without repeated interactions. Instead, our results suggest social motives that evolved under the joint influence of both mechanisms.

Fostering team dynamics in university sport science student: a low-constraint social identity intervention

Traditionally, improving group dynamic has relied on cohesion and team building (TB) interventions. However, the time-intensive nature of TB interventions poses challenges for their implementation and effectiveness. Acknowledging the significance of the Social Identity Approach (SIA) in shaping group dynamic, this study aims to propose an enlightened TB intervention tailored for task-oriented groups. A total of 741 sports science students (Mage = 19.65; SD = 1.43; female = 187) participated in a 45-minutes intervention, based on an experimental scenario involving inter-group competition, forming 19 teams with stakes for the winners and losers. The identity group underwent a three-step intervention, including defining team boundaries, discussing team desirability and values, and creating a visual team identity symbol. The control group received a theoretical course on social identity theories. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in group belonging, ingroup ties, and cognitive centrality compared to the control group. The findings support the interest of a social identity approach for teams with demanding schedules to initiate preliminary work targeting optimal Group dynamic.

Location, Location, Location: Disentangling Drivers of Terrorist Credit-Taking

ABSTRACT Most academic definitions of terrorism emphasize the communicative function of terrorism. The aim of terrorist violence is widely held to be to gain publication for a political or religious cause. Despite this emphasis on communication, terrorists rarely seek attention by claiming responsibility for attacks. According to the Global Terrorism Database, claims of responsibility are only issued for approximately every sixth attack. This raises the question: Why do terrorists abstain from the easy “win” of claiming their attacks? Previous research has theorized that factors like state sponsorship, principal-agent problems, casualty levels, and inter-group competition are important factors in explaining variation in terrorist credit-taking propensities. In this paper, we diverge from the tried and trusted deductive approach and instead utilize an inductive approach. We apply machine learning techniques using Random Forests to predict claims of responsibility. Our initial results indicate that geographical factors, like country of attack, are the strongest predictors of claims—something largely overlooked by existing research. In our analysis, the predictive power of geographical factors thus exceeds that of explanations from the literature based on characteristics of the target of the attack, e.g. number of fatalities and wounded.

The effect of competition on children's merit-based resource allocation: The difference between interpersonal and intergroup competition.

Competition usually exists in groups in everyday interactions, but how children allocate according to competition outcomes (e.g., merit-based allocation) after intergroup competition and the difference in children's allocations of rewards between interpersonal and intergroup competition remain unclear. Children aged 3-8 years were asked to complete interpersonal or intergroup competitive games and were further asked to allocate rewards between themselves and their partners (Study 1) or between their group and the other group (Studies 2 and 3) and to reason about their decisions. We found that after interpersonal competition, children tended to conduct merit-based allocations when they won but were more inclined to conduct equal allocations when they lost; after intergroup competition, children were more inclined to make equal allocations regardless of whether they won or lost, only less than half of children followed meritorious principles. However, children conducted more merit-based allocations with age after both interpersonal and intergroup competitions. In addition, children showed less bias towards their own side after intergroup competition than after interpersonal competition. Finally, they demonstrated an earlier proclivity towards being influenced by winning outcomes than by losing outcomes after interpersonal competition, whereas a converse tendency was found after intergroup competition.

Evidence of the active participation of women in the intergroup conflict based on the use of aggression and cooperation

Intergroup conflict has been a persistent aspect of human societies since the emergence of our species. Various researchers have proposed that competition between groups has acted as a key selective force throughout human evolutionary history. Such intergroup competition for limited resources exacerbated the expression of intergroup aggression and intragroup cooperation. Furthermore, it would have a sexual dimorphism, with men demonstrating increased sensitivity to conflict threats—in order to maximize reproductive opportunities—, while women generally reject from active engagement in intergroup conflict. In the present study, we conducted behavioral experiments under controlled laboratory conditions to measure cooperation and aggression from using virtual games, specifically the Public Good Games and the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, in a sample of 541 participants. We created control and experimental intergroup competition scenarios, where aggression and cooperation were necessary to increase monetary rewards. Our results shows that men modulate aggression and cooperation in the presence of intergroup conflict. In addition, our data also reveals that women cooperate more than men and display heightened levels of cooperation and aggression when confronted with intergroup conflict. These findings prompt a reevaluation of current functional theoretical models concerning the role of women in intergroup conflict and suggest that the dynamics of human aggression and cooperation may be more nuanced than previously believed.

Who Gets the Credit for Success and the Blame for Failure? On the Links Between Narcissism and Self- and Group-Serving Biases

People often attribute success to themselves and failure to others. Past research indicates that this tendency toward self-serving attributions is pronounced among individuals high in trait narcissism. The aim of this registered report was to re-visit the link between narcissism and self-serving attributions by studying attributions in a group context and by distinguishing between two major dimensions of grandiose narcissism, admiration, and rivalry. We conducted a group study, ( N = 422 participants nested in 54 groups), in which participants of each group were randomly assigned to one of two teams which then engaged in an intergroup competition. In line with our hypotheses, admiration predicted the tendency to take personal credit for success. Contrary to our hypotheses, rivalry did not uniquely predict the tendency to blame others for failure. Instead, admiration uniquely predicted the tendency to attribute negative team outcomes to unfairness of the competing outgroup. Explorative analyses further revealed that both admiration and rivalry were associated with the tendency to attribute negative, rather than positive, team outcomes to chance. Taken together, the findings indicate that narcissism goes along with an increased propensity for self-serving attributions in competitive intergroup settings and that this tendency is mainly driven by the admiration dimension.

Computerized collaboration scripts and real-time intergroup competition for enhancing student collaboration and learning with multi-touch tabletop displays

Computerized collaboration scripts and real-time intergroup competition for enhancing student collaboration and learning with multi-touch tabletop displays

Emergent cooperative behavior in transient compartments.

We introduce a minimal model of multilevel selection on structured populations, considering the interplay between game theory and population dynamics. Through a bottleneck process, finite groups are formed with cooperators and defectors sampled from an infinite pool. After the fragmentation, these transient compartments grow until the maximal number of individuals per compartment is attained. Eventually, all compartments are merged and well mixed, and the whole process is repeated. We show that cooperators, even if interacting only through mean-field intragroup interactions that favor defectors, may perform well because of the intergroup competition and the size diversity among the compartments. These cycles of isolation and coalescence may therefore be important in maintaining diversity among different species or strategies and may help to understand the underlying mechanisms of the scaffolding processes in the transition to multicellularity.

Barriers, Challenges, and Benefits: Gender Diversity in Technology-Based New Venture Team Innovation

This paper introduces the early phase of research designed to unpack the phenomenon of gender diversity intechnology new venture teams including its barriers, potential benefits, and challenges. We present some preliminary casestudy findings from 13 interviews with team members from three technology new ventures in Indonesia. This researchsetting allows us to investigate a unique cultural context in a developing country. The present study addresses a significantresearch gap by elucidating various viewpoints of new ventures towards gender diversity within the same institutionalcontext, thereby enabling a nuanced understanding of their ability to leverage the potential benefits of gender-diverse teamsfor innovation. Specifically, our findings reveal that new ventures have different abilities to navigate the barriers andchallenges associated with gender diversity. This study identified three distinct barriers, namely the acquisition of genderbalancedapplicants, the mitigation of gender-specific bias, and the effective management of dynamics team composition.In addition to the potential benefits of having a gender-diverse team, such as enhanced collaboration, balanced thinking,and inter-group competition, our research has identified three significant challenges. These include the need to overcomecultural and social norms that hinder gender diversity, effectively managing diversity management practices, and improvingemployee engagement and a sense of belonging. The initial results of our study offer some practical and theoreticalimplications for enhancing the potential of new ventures to leverage the advantages of gender-diverse teams to promoteinnovation. These we aim to study further as the doctoral investigation advances further through more extensive case studyanalysis.

A Simple Model of the Rise and Fall of Civilizations.

The literature on the fall of civilizations spans from the archaeology of early state societies to the history of the 20th century. Explanations for the fall of civilizations abound, from general extrinsic causes (drought, warfare) to general intrinsic causes (intergroup competition, socioeconomic inequality, collapse of trade networks) and combinations of these, to case-specific explanations for the specific demise of early state societies. Here, we focus on ancient civilizations, which archaeologists typically define by a set of characteristics including hierarchical organization, standardization of specialized knowledge, occupation and technologies, and hierarchical exchange networks and settlements. We take a general approach, with a model suggesting that state societies arise and dissolve through the same processes of innovation. Drawing on the field of cumulative cultural evolution, we demonstrate a model that replicates the essence of a civilization's rise and fall, in which agents at various scales-individuals, households, specialist communities, polities-copy each other in an unbiased manner but with varying degrees of institutional memory, invention rate, and propensity to copy locally versus globally. The results, which produce an increasingly extreme hierarchy of success among agents, suggest that civilizations become increasingly vulnerable to even small increases in propensity to copy locally.