Polarization and Cooperation: A Behavioral Experiment
- Programa:
- Sesión 5, Sesión 5
Día: martes, 23 de julio de 2024
Hora: 11:00 a 12:45
Lugar: SAN RAIMUNDO DE PEÑAFORT (21)
This paper studies the impact of affective polarization on cooperation. We use
a behavioral experiment as a hard test for this effect, in which survey respon-
dents are invited to cooperate asynchronously with another subject in completing
a simple one-shot task (converting to capital letters a salad recipe or a political
text previously created by the other subject). Respondents are treated on whether
the other subject votes for her most liked/disliked party and on the benefits and
rewards that result from cooperation. Results show that cooperation is greatly re-
duced when the other subject is an outpartisan (more than 20 percentage points
lower than in the control group), although it is not more likely with copartisans.
Also, the negative effect of polarization significantly softens when there is a public
good at stake (a donation to an NGO), and it is amplified by increased levels of
affective polarization. Finally, among those that decide to cooperate, the quality of
the task is higher if the respondent receives a reward but notably lower for political
texts. These empirical findings suggest that recently increasing affective polariza-
tion might have important effects outside the political realm and have far-reaching
implications for today’s heterogeneous societies. When even basic forms of interac-
tion between individuals are corroded by partisan animosity, the development of
higher forms of cooperation between groups with different political preferences can
be severely compromised.
a behavioral experiment as a hard test for this effect, in which survey respon-
dents are invited to cooperate asynchronously with another subject in completing
a simple one-shot task (converting to capital letters a salad recipe or a political
text previously created by the other subject). Respondents are treated on whether
the other subject votes for her most liked/disliked party and on the benefits and
rewards that result from cooperation. Results show that cooperation is greatly re-
duced when the other subject is an outpartisan (more than 20 percentage points
lower than in the control group), although it is not more likely with copartisans.
Also, the negative effect of polarization significantly softens when there is a public
good at stake (a donation to an NGO), and it is amplified by increased levels of
affective polarization. Finally, among those that decide to cooperate, the quality of
the task is higher if the respondent receives a reward but notably lower for political
texts. These empirical findings suggest that recently increasing affective polariza-
tion might have important effects outside the political realm and have far-reaching
implications for today’s heterogeneous societies. When even basic forms of interac-
tion between individuals are corroded by partisan animosity, the development of
higher forms of cooperation between groups with different political preferences can
be severely compromised.
Palabras clave: Polarización, cooperación, España
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