Gradual reputation dynamics evolve and sustain cooperation in indirect reciprocity.

ABSTRACT: Humans have achieved widespread cooperation, largely sustained by mechanisms such as indirect reciprocity, which relies on reputation and social norms. People are highly motivated to maintain a good reputation, and social norms play a critical role in reputation systems by defining acceptable behavior, helping prevent exploitation by free-riders. However, there is a gap between theory and experiment in handling reputation information, with experiments often failing to capture the complexity that theoretical models propose. Here, we address two key issues: what kind of information is needed to define reputation as a social norm and the appropriate level of granularity required for reputation information to function effectively. This paper combines scenario-based experiments and evolutionary

SUBMITTER: Yamamoto H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12334055 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature