IS THERE A DISCONTINUITY OR A RECIPROCITY EFFECT IN COOPERATION AND COMPETITION BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

According to our reciprocal interdependence hypothesis, derived from t he Behavioral Interaction model (BIM), groups in a Prisoner's Dilemma Game (PDG) will strive more for the long-term goal of mutual cooperati on than inidividuals, provided that the other (programmed) opponent ca n be expected or tl trusted to cooperate as well. If the opponent seem s to follow a con competitive ol exploitative strategy groups will beh ave more competitively than individuals (e.g. Rabbie et al., 1982). In other PDG research it is found that groups are almost invariably more competitive or less cooperative than individuals (e.g. Schopler & Ins ko 1992). Our conjecture is that this individual-group discontinuity e ffect may be partly attributed to unique features of the experimental procedures of Schopler and Insko which induce mutual (reciprocal) coop eration between individals and mutual competition between groups. A re view of the evidence seems to provide more support for the reciprocity hypothesis than for the various explanations for the discontinuity ef fect proposed by Schopler, Insko, and their associates. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.