12: Competition and Cooperation in Our Social Worlds
- Page ID
- 257140
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Chapter Overview
This chapter examines how social situations influence competition, conflict, and cooperation. It explores the roles of morality, fairness, and social dilemmas in shaping how people respond when individual and group interests compete. You will examine concepts such as public goods and the prisoner’s dilemma, as well as individual and cultural differences that influence cooperative behavior. The chapter also considers practical strategies for promoting cooperation, including interdependence, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, and demonstrates how principles from social psychology can help people manage conflict and work toward mutually beneficial outcomes.
Chapter Learning Objectives
- Conflict, Cooperation, Morality, and Fairness
- Review the situational variables that increase or decrease competition and conflict.
- Differentiate harm-based morality from social conventional morality, and explain how morality works to help people cooperate.
- Define distributive justice and procedural justice, and explain the influence of fairness norms on cooperation and competition.
- How the Social Situation Creates Conflict: The Role of Social Dilemmas
- Explain the concepts of public goods and social dilemmas, and how these conflicts influence human interactions.
- Describe the principles of the prisoner’s dilemma game that make it an effective model for studying social dilemmas.
- Review the different laboratory games that have been used to study social dilemmas.
- Summarize the individual difference and cultural variables that relate to cooperation and competition.
- Strategies for Producing Cooperation
- Outline the variables that increase and decrease competition.
- Summarize the principles of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration.
- 12.1: Prelude to Competition and Cooperation in Our Social Worlds
- This page analyzes the collapse of the Atlantic Canada cod fishery due to overfishing and mismanagement, resulting in a 1992 moratorium that left 40,000 fishers unemployed. It highlights the tension between short-term interests and sustainable practices as well as the balance between self-concern and other-concern in social relationships.
- 12.2: Conflict, Cooperation, Morality, and Fairness
- This page examines the interplay between conflict and cooperation, and how situational factors shape these dynamics. It addresses the universal nature of harm-based morality versus varying social conventions, linking morality to fairness through distributive and procedural justice concepts.
- 12.3: How the Social Situation Creates Conflict- The Role of Social Dilemmas
- This page explores social dilemmas, particularly the prisoner’s dilemma, showcasing the tension between individual self-interest and collective benefit. It illustrates how competitive behaviors undermine cooperation, impacting group outcomes. The content emphasizes variations in the dilemma, the role of personality traits in fostering cooperation, and the influence of gender and culture on negotiation behaviors.
- 12.4: Strategies for Producing Cooperation
- This page explores the dynamics of competition and cooperation in social dilemmas, highlighting key factors like task characteristics, group size, and communication. It notes that effective communication can resolve conflicts and foster trust, encouraging cooperation through strategies like tit-for-tat. Additionally, it distinguishes negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, emphasizing their roles in resolving disputes.
- 12.5: Thinking Like a Social Psychologist about Cooperation and Competition
- This page explores the role of social psychology in understanding cooperation and conflict. It highlights the distinction between perceived and real conflicts, promoting a problem-solving mindset that considers the needs of all parties involved. The text advocates for integrative solutions, emphasizing that cooperation can generate mutual benefits.
- 12.6: Chapter Summary
- This page examines cooperation, competition, and conflict dynamics, highlighting individual goals' effects on group behavior. It clarifies social dilemmas where personal and communal interests clash, leading to conflict, but suggests these are not inevitable. Morality and fairness are key influences, alongside individual and cultural differences, group size, and communication's role. The chapter wraps up with strategies to enhance cooperation in conflict resolution.
- 12.7: Additional Learning Opportunities
- This page presents activities for students and instructors to engage with concepts of conflict, cooperation, morality, and fairness. It includes activities like analyzing conflicts and moral decision-making, exploring social dilemmas, and strategies for promoting cooperation. A TEDx talk by Frans de Waal is recommended, focusing on the evolutionary basis of morality in animals.
Thumbnail: Reconciliation and Cooperation. (CC BY-SA 2.0; via Wikimedia Commons).