According to a study by a German research team, most people are willing to cooperate with strangers, but underestimate the cooperative spirit of their neighbors.<\/p>\n
The phenomenon is particularly pronounced in Germany, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science.<\/p>\n
A research team from Bonn and Frankfurt emphasizes that cooperation is a fundamental prerequisite for social well-being. They stated that many problems can only be overcome if people are willing to contribute to the common good, going beyond their own interests.<\/p>\n
According to the University of Bonn, the study is based on behavioral science experiments involving over 100,000 participants from 125 representative countries. It is claimed to be the first study in the world to examine human cooperation on a globally representative basis.<\/p>\n
A similar study was conducted worldwide: each participant was paired with a stranger from their country and asked to choose between two options. The "non-cooperation" option guaranteed a $100 income, while the "cooperation" option only earned $70.<\/p>\n
However, if both participants\u2014independently and without consultation\u2014chosen "cooperation," they received an additional $400 for climate action. Participants thus faced a choice between a larger personal payment and a payment focused on community needs.<\/p>\n
The overwhelming majority of participants\u2014an average of 69%\u2014expressed a willingness to forgo a larger personal sum in favor of contributing to climate action. However, participants systematically underestimated others' willingness to cooperate.<\/p>\n
While the actual level of global cooperation was 691%, respondents on average expected cooperation to come from only 471% of other countries. This pessimistic misconception was found in 124 of the 125 countries studied, making it virtually universal.<\/p>\n
\u00ab"Our results are encouraging: we are much more cooperative than we think," the researchers concluded.<\/p>\n
In Germany, the willingness of others to cooperate was particularly underestimated. Although an unusually high proportion (86%) of German participants actually cooperated, they expected only 47.6% others to do so, an underestimation of nearly 40 percentage points.<\/p>\n
\u00ab"I suspect we have a tendency to see the glass as half empty," Armin Falk of the University of Bonn, one of the study's authors, told the dpa news agency. "This is consistent with the underlying pessimism that many people complain about.".<\/p>\n
For Falk, however, the most important conclusion of the study is this: \u00abIf we were less pessimistic and therefore more realistic, we could live in a better world.\u00bb.<\/p>\n
He said many people fall victim to cognitive self-deception, judging others too negatively. "And by doing so, we weaken ourselves.".<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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