Publications by category
Journal articles
Rahwan Z, Fasolo B, Hauser O (In Press). Deception about study purpose does not affect participant behavior. Scientific Reports
Blesch K, Hauser O, Jachimowicz JM (In Press). Measuring Inequality Beyond the Gini Coefficient May Clarify Conflicting Findings.
Nature Human BehaviourAbstract:
Measuring Inequality Beyond the Gini Coefficient May Clarify Conflicting Findings
Prior research found mixed results on how economic inequality is related to various outcomes. These contradicting findings may in part
stem from a predominant focus on the Gini coefficient, which only narrowly captures inequality. Here, we conceptualize the measurement
of inequality as a data reduction task of income distributions. Using a uniquely fine-grained dataset of N = 3, 056 US county-level income
distributions, we estimate the fit of 17 previously proposed models, and find that multi-parameter models consistently outperform single parameter models (i.e. which represent the Gini coefficient). Subsequent simulations reveal that the best-fitting model—the two-parameter
Ortega model—distinguishes between inequality concentrated at lower- versus top-income percentiles. When applied to 100 policy out comes from a range of fields (including health, crime, and social mobility), the two Ortega parameters frequently provide directionally and
significantly different correlations than the Gini coefficient. Our findings highlight the importance of multi-parameter models and data-driven
methods to study inequality.
Abstract.
Kristal AS, Nicks L, Gloor JL, Hauser O (In Press). Reducing discrimination against job seekers with and without employment gaps. Nature Human Behaviour
Page A, Sealy R, Parker A, Hauser O (In Press). Regulation and the Trickle-Down Effect of Women in Leadership Roles. Leadership Quarterly
Chang E, Chilazi S, Elfer J, Arslan C, Kirgios E, Hauser O, Bohnet I (2023). Incorporating DEI into Decision-Making. Harvard business review
Rossetti CSL, Hilbe C, Hauser OP (2022). (Mis)perceiving cooperativeness.
Current Opinion in Psychology,
43, 151-155.
Abstract:
(Mis)perceiving cooperativeness
Cooperation is crucial for the success of social interactions. Given its importance, humans should readily be able to use available cues to predict how likely others are to cooperate. Here, we review the empirical literature on how accurate such predictions are. To this end, we distinguish between three classes of cues: behavioral (including past decisions), personal (including gender, attractiveness, and group membership) and situational (including the benefits to cooperation and the ability to communicate with each other). We discuss (i) how each cue correlates with future cooperative decisions and (ii) whether people correctly anticipate each cue's predictive value. We find that people are fairly accurate in interpreting behavioral and situational cues. However, they often misperceive the value of personal cues.
Abstract.
DOI.
Koster R, Balaguer J, Tacchetti A, Weinstein A, Zhu T, Hauser OP, Williams D, Campbell-Gillingham L, Thacker P, Botvinick M, et al (2022). Human-centred mechanism design with democratic AI.
Nature Human Behaviour DOI.
Chilazi S, Bohnet I, Hauser O (2021). Achieving Gender Balance at all Levels of Your Company. Harvard business review
Fornwagner H, Hauser OP (2021). Climate Action for (My) Children.
Environmental and Resource EconomicsAbstract:
Climate Action for (My) Children
How do we motivate cooperation across the generations—between parents and children? Here we study voluntary climate action (VCA), which is costly to today’s decision-makers but essential to enable sustainable living for future generations. We predict that “offspring observability” is critical: parents will be more likely to invest in VCA when their own offspring observes their action, whereas when adults or genetically unrelated children observe them, the effect will be smaller. In a large-scale lab-in-the-field experiment, we observe a remarkable magnitude of VCA: parents invest 82% of their 69€ endowment into VCA, resulting in almost 14,000 real trees being planted. Parents’ VCA varies across conditions, with the largest treatment effect occurring when a parent’s own child is the observer. In subgroup analyses, we find that larger treatment effects occur among parents with a high school diploma. Our findings have implications for policy-makers interested in designing programs to encourage voluntary climate action and sustaining intergenerational public goods.
Abstract.
DOI.
Waldfogel HB, Sheehy-Skeffington J, Hauser OP, Ho AK, Kteily NS (2021). Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,
118(14).
Abstract:
Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality.
Contemporary debates about addressing inequality require a common, accurate understanding of the scope of the issue at hand. Yet little is known about who notices inequality in the world around them and when. Across five studies (N = 8,779) employing various paradigms, we consider the role of ideological beliefs about the desirability of social equality in shaping individuals' attention to-and accuracy in detecting-inequality across the class, gender, and racial domains. In Study 1, individuals higher (versus lower) on social egalitarianism were more likely to naturalistically remark on inequality when shown photographs of urban scenes. In Study 2, social egalitarians were more accurate at differentiating between equal versus unequal distributions of resources between men and women on a basic cognitive task. In Study 3, social egalitarians were faster to notice inequality-relevant changes in images in a change detection paradigm indexing basic attentional processes. In Studies 4 and 5, we varied whether unequal treatment adversely affected groups at the top or bottom of society. In Study 4, social egalitarians were, on an incentivized task, more accurate at detecting inequality in speaking time in a panel discussion that disadvantaged women but not when inequality disadvantaged men. In Study 5, social egalitarians were more likely to naturalistically point out bias in a pattern detection hiring task when the employer was biased against minorities but not when majority group members faced equivalent bias. Our results reveal the nuances in how our ideological beliefs shape whether we accurately notice inequality, with implications for prospects for addressing it.
Abstract.
Author URL.
DOI.
Liu F, Page A, Strode SA, Yoshida Y, Choi S, Zheng B, Lamsal LN, Li C, Krotkov NA, Eskes H, et al (2020). Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Science Advances, eabc2992-eabc2992.
Abstract:
Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19
China’s policy interventions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 have environmental and economic impacts. Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide indicates economic activities, as nitrogen dioxide is primarily emitted from fossil fuel consumption. Satellite measurements show a 48% drop in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide vertical column densities from the 20 days averaged before the 2020 Lunar New Year to the 20 days averaged after. This is 21% ± 5% larger than that from 2015–2019. We relate this reduction to two of the government’s actions: the announcement of the first report in each province and the date of a province’s lockdown. Both actions are associated with nearly the same magnitude of reductions. Our analysis offers insights into the unintended environmental and economic consequences through reduced economic activities.
Abstract.
DOI.
Davidai S, Day MV, Goya-Tocchetto D, Hauser OP, Jachimowicz J, Mirza MU, Ordabayeva N, Phillips LT, Szaszi B, Tepper SJ, et al (2020). COVID-19 Provides a Rare Opportunity to Create a Stronger, More Equitable Society.
Behavioral Scientist DOI.
Lee A, Inceoglu I, Hauser O, Greene M (2020). Determining Causal Relationships in Leadership Research Using Machine Learning: the Powerful Synergy of Experiments and Data Science.
The Leadership Quarterly,
33, 1-14.
DOI.
Donahue K, Hauser OP, Nowak MA, Hilbe C (2020). Evolving cooperation in multichannel games.
Nature Communications,
11 DOI.
Hauser OP, Gino F, Norton M (2019). Budging Beliefs, Nudging Behaviour.
Mind and Society,
17, 15-26.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Kraft-Todd G, Rand DG, Nowak MA, Norton MI (2019). Invisible Inequality Leads to Punishing the Poor and Rewarding the Rich.
Behavioural Public Policy, 1-21.
DOI.
Jachimowicz JM, Hauser OP, O'Brien J, Sherman E, Galinsky A (2019). People Use Less Energy When They Think Their Neighbors Care About the Environment. Harvard Business Review
Hauser OP, Hilbe C, Chatterjee K, Nowak MA (2019). Social dilemmas among unequals.
Nature,
572, 524-527.
DOI.
Jordan M, Dickens WT, Hauser OP, Rand DG (2019). The role of inequity aversion in microloan defaults.
Behavioural Public Policy DOI.
Satterstrom P, Polzer JT, Kwan LB, Hauser OP, Wiruchnipawan W, Burke M (2019). Thin Slices of Workgroups.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
151, 104-117.
DOI.
Rahwan Z, Hauser OP, Kochanowska E, Fasolo B (2018). High stakes: a little more cheating, a lot less charity.
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization,
152, 276-295.
Abstract:
High stakes: a little more cheating, a lot less charity
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. We explore the downstream consequences of cheating–and resisting the temptation to cheat–at high stakes on pro-social behaviour and self-perceptions. In a large online sample, we replicate the seminal finding that cheating rates are largely insensitive to stake size, even at a 500-fold increase. We present two new findings. First, resisting the temptation to cheat at high stakes led to negative moral spill-over, triggering a moral license: participants who resisted cheating in the high stakes condition subsequently donated a smaller fraction of their earnings to charity. Second, participants who cheated maximally mispredicted their perceived morality: although such participants thought they were less prone to feeling immoral if they cheated, they ended up feeling more immoral a day after the cheating task than immediately afterwards. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings on moral balancing and self-deception, and the practical relevance for organisational design.
Abstract.
DOI.
Hauser O (2018). Running out of time. Nature Sustainability
Jachimowicz JM, Hauser OP, O'Brien JD, Sherman E, Galinsky AD (2018). The critical role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation.
Nature Human Behaviour,
2 DOI.
Hauser OP, Norton MI (2017). (Mis)perceptions of inequality.
Current Opinion in Psychology,
18, 21-25.
DOI.
Kettle S, Hernandez M, Sanders M, Hauser O, Ruda S (2017). Failure to CAPTCHA Attention: Null Results from an Honesty Priming Experiment in Guatemala.
Behavioral Sciences,
7(4), 28-28.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Linos E, Rogers T (2017). Innovation with field experiments: Studying organizational behaviors in actual organizations.
Research in Organizational Behavior,
37, 185-198.
DOI.
Bouwmeester S, Verkoeijen PPJL, Aczel B, Barbosa F, Bègue L, Brañas-Garza P, Chmura TGH, Cornelissen G, Døssing FS, Espín AM, et al (2017). Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012).
Perspectives on Psychological Science,
12(3), 527-542.
Abstract:
Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012)
In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e. cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the social heuristics hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g. Rand et al. 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g. Tinghög et al. 2013; Verkoeijen & Bouwmeester, 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article (Rand et al. 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the time-pressure condition and 7.5% in the forced-delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and we observed a difference in contributions of −0.37 percentage points compared with an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original article did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared with a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation.
Abstract.
DOI.
Hauser O, Luca M (2016). Good Communication Requires Experimenting with Your Language. Harvard Business Review
Hauser OP, Hendriks A, Rand DG, Nowak MA (2016). Think global, act local: Preserving the global commons.
Scientific Reports,
6(1).
Abstract:
Think global, act local: Preserving the global commons
AbstractPreserving global public goods, such as the planet’s ecosystem, depends on large-scale cooperation, which is difficult to achieve because the standard reciprocity mechanisms weaken in large groups. Here we demonstrate a method by which reciprocity can maintain cooperation in a large-scale public goods game (PGG). In a first experiment, participants in groups of on average 39 people play one round of a Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) with their two nearest neighbours on a cyclic network after each PGG round. We observe that people engage in “local-to-global” reciprocity, leveraging local interactions to enforce global cooperation: Participants reduce PD cooperation with neighbours who contribute little in the PGG. In response, low PGG contributors increase their contributions if both neighbours defect in the PD. In a control condition, participants do not know their neighbours’ PGG contribution and thus cannot link play in the PD to the PGG. In the control we observe a sharp decline of cooperation in the PGG, while in the treatment condition global cooperation is maintained. In a second experiment, we demonstrate the scalability of this effect: in a 1,000-person PGG, participants in the treatment condition successfully sustain public contributions. Our findings suggest that this simple “local-to-global” intervention facilitates large-scale cooperation.
Abstract.
DOI.
Hauser O, Luca M (2015). How to Design (and Analyze) a Business Experiment. Harvard Business Review
Hauser O, Luca M (2015). Your Company is Full of Good Experiments (You Just Have to Recognize Them). Harvard Business Review
Hauser OP, Rand DG, Peysakhovich A, Nowak MA (2014). Cooperating with the future.
Nature,
511(7508), 220-223.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Traulsen A, Nowak MA (2014). Heterogeneity in background fitness acts as a suppressor of selection.
Journal of Theoretical Biology,
343, 178-185.
DOI.
P. Hauser O, A. Nowak M, G. Rand D (2014). Punishment does not promote cooperation under exploration dynamics when anti-social punishment is possible.
Journal of Theoretical Biology,
360, 163-171.
DOI.
Publications by year
In Press
Rahwan Z, Fasolo B, Hauser O (In Press). Deception about study purpose does not affect participant behavior. Scientific Reports
Blesch K, Hauser O, Jachimowicz JM (In Press). Measuring Inequality Beyond the Gini Coefficient May Clarify Conflicting Findings.
Nature Human BehaviourAbstract:
Measuring Inequality Beyond the Gini Coefficient May Clarify Conflicting Findings
Prior research found mixed results on how economic inequality is related to various outcomes. These contradicting findings may in part
stem from a predominant focus on the Gini coefficient, which only narrowly captures inequality. Here, we conceptualize the measurement
of inequality as a data reduction task of income distributions. Using a uniquely fine-grained dataset of N = 3, 056 US county-level income
distributions, we estimate the fit of 17 previously proposed models, and find that multi-parameter models consistently outperform single parameter models (i.e. which represent the Gini coefficient). Subsequent simulations reveal that the best-fitting model—the two-parameter
Ortega model—distinguishes between inequality concentrated at lower- versus top-income percentiles. When applied to 100 policy out comes from a range of fields (including health, crime, and social mobility), the two Ortega parameters frequently provide directionally and
significantly different correlations than the Gini coefficient. Our findings highlight the importance of multi-parameter models and data-driven
methods to study inequality.
Abstract.
Kristal AS, Nicks L, Gloor JL, Hauser O (In Press). Reducing discrimination against job seekers with and without employment gaps. Nature Human Behaviour
Page A, Sealy R, Parker A, Hauser O (In Press). Regulation and the Trickle-Down Effect of Women in Leadership Roles. Leadership Quarterly
2023
Chang E, Chilazi S, Elfer J, Arslan C, Kirgios E, Hauser O, Bohnet I (2023). Incorporating DEI into Decision-Making. Harvard business review
2022
Rossetti CSL, Hilbe C, Hauser OP (2022). (Mis)perceiving cooperativeness.
Current Opinion in Psychology,
43, 151-155.
Abstract:
(Mis)perceiving cooperativeness
Cooperation is crucial for the success of social interactions. Given its importance, humans should readily be able to use available cues to predict how likely others are to cooperate. Here, we review the empirical literature on how accurate such predictions are. To this end, we distinguish between three classes of cues: behavioral (including past decisions), personal (including gender, attractiveness, and group membership) and situational (including the benefits to cooperation and the ability to communicate with each other). We discuss (i) how each cue correlates with future cooperative decisions and (ii) whether people correctly anticipate each cue's predictive value. We find that people are fairly accurate in interpreting behavioral and situational cues. However, they often misperceive the value of personal cues.
Abstract.
DOI.
Koster R, Balaguer J, Tacchetti A, Weinstein A, Zhu T, Hauser OP, Williams D, Campbell-Gillingham L, Thacker P, Botvinick M, et al (2022). Human-centred mechanism design with democratic AI.
Nature Human Behaviour DOI.
2021
Chilazi S, Bohnet I, Hauser O (2021). Achieving Gender Balance at all Levels of Your Company. Harvard business review
Fornwagner H, Hauser OP (2021). Climate Action for (My) Children.
Environmental and Resource EconomicsAbstract:
Climate Action for (My) Children
How do we motivate cooperation across the generations—between parents and children? Here we study voluntary climate action (VCA), which is costly to today’s decision-makers but essential to enable sustainable living for future generations. We predict that “offspring observability” is critical: parents will be more likely to invest in VCA when their own offspring observes their action, whereas when adults or genetically unrelated children observe them, the effect will be smaller. In a large-scale lab-in-the-field experiment, we observe a remarkable magnitude of VCA: parents invest 82% of their 69€ endowment into VCA, resulting in almost 14,000 real trees being planted. Parents’ VCA varies across conditions, with the largest treatment effect occurring when a parent’s own child is the observer. In subgroup analyses, we find that larger treatment effects occur among parents with a high school diploma. Our findings have implications for policy-makers interested in designing programs to encourage voluntary climate action and sustaining intergenerational public goods.
Abstract.
DOI.
Waldfogel HB, Sheehy-Skeffington J, Hauser OP, Ho AK, Kteily NS (2021). Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,
118(14).
Abstract:
Ideology selectively shapes attention to inequality.
Contemporary debates about addressing inequality require a common, accurate understanding of the scope of the issue at hand. Yet little is known about who notices inequality in the world around them and when. Across five studies (N = 8,779) employing various paradigms, we consider the role of ideological beliefs about the desirability of social equality in shaping individuals' attention to-and accuracy in detecting-inequality across the class, gender, and racial domains. In Study 1, individuals higher (versus lower) on social egalitarianism were more likely to naturalistically remark on inequality when shown photographs of urban scenes. In Study 2, social egalitarians were more accurate at differentiating between equal versus unequal distributions of resources between men and women on a basic cognitive task. In Study 3, social egalitarians were faster to notice inequality-relevant changes in images in a change detection paradigm indexing basic attentional processes. In Studies 4 and 5, we varied whether unequal treatment adversely affected groups at the top or bottom of society. In Study 4, social egalitarians were, on an incentivized task, more accurate at detecting inequality in speaking time in a panel discussion that disadvantaged women but not when inequality disadvantaged men. In Study 5, social egalitarians were more likely to naturalistically point out bias in a pattern detection hiring task when the employer was biased against minorities but not when majority group members faced equivalent bias. Our results reveal the nuances in how our ideological beliefs shape whether we accurately notice inequality, with implications for prospects for addressing it.
Abstract.
Author URL.
DOI.
2020
Liu F, Page A, Strode SA, Yoshida Y, Choi S, Zheng B, Lamsal LN, Li C, Krotkov NA, Eskes H, et al (2020). Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Science Advances, eabc2992-eabc2992.
Abstract:
Abrupt decline in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China after the outbreak of COVID-19
China’s policy interventions to reduce the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 have environmental and economic impacts. Tropospheric nitrogen dioxide indicates economic activities, as nitrogen dioxide is primarily emitted from fossil fuel consumption. Satellite measurements show a 48% drop in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide vertical column densities from the 20 days averaged before the 2020 Lunar New Year to the 20 days averaged after. This is 21% ± 5% larger than that from 2015–2019. We relate this reduction to two of the government’s actions: the announcement of the first report in each province and the date of a province’s lockdown. Both actions are associated with nearly the same magnitude of reductions. Our analysis offers insights into the unintended environmental and economic consequences through reduced economic activities.
Abstract.
DOI.
Davidai S, Day MV, Goya-Tocchetto D, Hauser OP, Jachimowicz J, Mirza MU, Ordabayeva N, Phillips LT, Szaszi B, Tepper SJ, et al (2020). COVID-19 Provides a Rare Opportunity to Create a Stronger, More Equitable Society.
Behavioral Scientist DOI.
Lee A, Inceoglu I, Hauser O, Greene M (2020). Determining Causal Relationships in Leadership Research Using Machine Learning: the Powerful Synergy of Experiments and Data Science.
The Leadership Quarterly,
33, 1-14.
DOI.
Donahue K, Hauser OP, Nowak MA, Hilbe C (2020). Evolving cooperation in multichannel games.
Nature Communications,
11 DOI.
2019
Hauser OP, Gino F, Norton M (2019). Budging Beliefs, Nudging Behaviour.
Mind and Society,
17, 15-26.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Kraft-Todd G, Rand DG, Nowak MA, Norton MI (2019). Invisible Inequality Leads to Punishing the Poor and Rewarding the Rich.
Behavioural Public Policy, 1-21.
DOI.
Jachimowicz JM, Hauser OP, O'Brien J, Sherman E, Galinsky A (2019). People Use Less Energy When They Think Their Neighbors Care About the Environment. Harvard Business Review
Hauser OP, Hilbe C, Chatterjee K, Nowak MA (2019). Social dilemmas among unequals.
Nature,
572, 524-527.
DOI.
Jordan M, Dickens WT, Hauser OP, Rand DG (2019). The role of inequity aversion in microloan defaults.
Behavioural Public Policy DOI.
Satterstrom P, Polzer JT, Kwan LB, Hauser OP, Wiruchnipawan W, Burke M (2019). Thin Slices of Workgroups.
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
151, 104-117.
DOI.
2018
Rahwan Z, Hauser OP, Kochanowska E, Fasolo B (2018). High stakes: a little more cheating, a lot less charity.
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization,
152, 276-295.
Abstract:
High stakes: a little more cheating, a lot less charity
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. We explore the downstream consequences of cheating–and resisting the temptation to cheat–at high stakes on pro-social behaviour and self-perceptions. In a large online sample, we replicate the seminal finding that cheating rates are largely insensitive to stake size, even at a 500-fold increase. We present two new findings. First, resisting the temptation to cheat at high stakes led to negative moral spill-over, triggering a moral license: participants who resisted cheating in the high stakes condition subsequently donated a smaller fraction of their earnings to charity. Second, participants who cheated maximally mispredicted their perceived morality: although such participants thought they were less prone to feeling immoral if they cheated, they ended up feeling more immoral a day after the cheating task than immediately afterwards. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings on moral balancing and self-deception, and the practical relevance for organisational design.
Abstract.
DOI.
Hauser O (2018). Running out of time. Nature Sustainability
Jachimowicz JM, Hauser OP, O'Brien JD, Sherman E, Galinsky AD (2018). The critical role of second-order normative beliefs in predicting energy conservation.
Nature Human Behaviour,
2 DOI.
2017
Hauser OP, Norton MI (2017). (Mis)perceptions of inequality.
Current Opinion in Psychology,
18, 21-25.
DOI.
Kettle S, Hernandez M, Sanders M, Hauser O, Ruda S (2017). Failure to CAPTCHA Attention: Null Results from an Honesty Priming Experiment in Guatemala.
Behavioral Sciences,
7(4), 28-28.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Linos E, Rogers T (2017). Innovation with field experiments: Studying organizational behaviors in actual organizations.
Research in Organizational Behavior,
37, 185-198.
DOI.
Bouwmeester S, Verkoeijen PPJL, Aczel B, Barbosa F, Bègue L, Brañas-Garza P, Chmura TGH, Cornelissen G, Døssing FS, Espín AM, et al (2017). Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012).
Perspectives on Psychological Science,
12(3), 527-542.
Abstract:
Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012)
In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e. cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the social heuristics hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g. Rand et al. 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g. Tinghög et al. 2013; Verkoeijen & Bouwmeester, 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, preregistered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original article (Rand et al. 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the time-pressure condition and 7.5% in the forced-delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and we observed a difference in contributions of −0.37 percentage points compared with an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original article did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared with a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation.
Abstract.
DOI.
2016
Hauser O, Luca M (2016). Good Communication Requires Experimenting with Your Language. Harvard Business Review
Hauser OP, Hendriks A, Rand DG, Nowak MA (2016). Think global, act local: Preserving the global commons.
Scientific Reports,
6(1).
Abstract:
Think global, act local: Preserving the global commons
AbstractPreserving global public goods, such as the planet’s ecosystem, depends on large-scale cooperation, which is difficult to achieve because the standard reciprocity mechanisms weaken in large groups. Here we demonstrate a method by which reciprocity can maintain cooperation in a large-scale public goods game (PGG). In a first experiment, participants in groups of on average 39 people play one round of a Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) with their two nearest neighbours on a cyclic network after each PGG round. We observe that people engage in “local-to-global” reciprocity, leveraging local interactions to enforce global cooperation: Participants reduce PD cooperation with neighbours who contribute little in the PGG. In response, low PGG contributors increase their contributions if both neighbours defect in the PD. In a control condition, participants do not know their neighbours’ PGG contribution and thus cannot link play in the PD to the PGG. In the control we observe a sharp decline of cooperation in the PGG, while in the treatment condition global cooperation is maintained. In a second experiment, we demonstrate the scalability of this effect: in a 1,000-person PGG, participants in the treatment condition successfully sustain public contributions. Our findings suggest that this simple “local-to-global” intervention facilitates large-scale cooperation.
Abstract.
DOI.
2015
Hauser O, Luca M (2015). How to Design (and Analyze) a Business Experiment. Harvard Business Review
Hauser O, Luca M (2015). Your Company is Full of Good Experiments (You Just Have to Recognize Them). Harvard Business Review
2014
Hauser OP, Rand DG, Peysakhovich A, Nowak MA (2014). Cooperating with the future.
Nature,
511(7508), 220-223.
DOI.
Hauser OP, Traulsen A, Nowak MA (2014). Heterogeneity in background fitness acts as a suppressor of selection.
Journal of Theoretical Biology,
343, 178-185.
DOI.
P. Hauser O, A. Nowak M, G. Rand D (2014). Punishment does not promote cooperation under exploration dynamics when anti-social punishment is possible.
Journal of Theoretical Biology,
360, 163-171.
DOI.
