The Effects Of Different Levels Of Group Identity On Cooperative Behavior In Nested Social Dilemma

In our society,social dilemmas with conflicting interests between individuals and collectives are very common,but social dilemmas do not only exist in the single group with a simple structure,but also in nested situations with complex hierarchical structures and interdependent patterns,where different subgroups can be nested hierarchically in the same superordinate group and each individual has multiple social group identities.This requires individuals to weigh individual interests,subgroup interests,and superordinate group interests simultaneously,which constitutes a nested social dilemma(Wit & Kerr,2002).In this study,it is a large group of six members who were told to be temporarily divided into two subgroups of three members according to the two response tendencies of the graphical reasoning task,such that the six members of the large group share a superordinate group account,the three members within the subgroup share a subgroup account,and each member has an individual account of his or her own,requiring the participants to divide their initial endowments among the three accounts.As the number of in-group members increases,the marginal per capita return to contributing to higher level group accounts is diminishing,so allocating more to lower level group accounts will result in maximizing individual benefits,but if all members choose to cooperate toward the highest level group,the final collective benefit is optimal.This study extends the common social dilemma research to intergroup situations by examining the factors influencing cooperative behavior and the internal psychological mechanisms of individuals with dual group identities in nested social dilemmas.Based on this,two studies were conducted in this paper.Study 1 focused on the distribution of participants’ allocation of resources to three accounts: individual account,subgroup account,and superordinate group account,and the predictive role of important variables such as two levels of group identity(subgroup identity & superordinate group identity),social value orientation,individualism,and collectivism on cooperative behavior in nested social dilemmas.A total of 180 valid questionnaires were collected through Credamo online questionnaire platform,and the results revealed that the subgroup identity was significantly higher than the superordinate identity,and accordingly,assigned significantly higher values to the subgroup account than to the supergroup account,which exhibited the parochial cooperative behavior that that subgroup cooperation takes precedence over superordinate group cooperation.For individuals with pro-social value orientation preferring to cooperate with subgroups at the expense of personal interests and superior group interests,while those with pro-self value orientation were first to focus on their own personal interests,followed by subgroup interests,and finally superior group interests.Hierarchical regression analyses were then conducted,which revealed that on the individual account,individualism scores significantly and positively predicted assigned values on the individual account,while subgroup identity,superordinate group identity,social value orientation and collectivism were significant negative predictors;on the subgroup account,subgroup identity,social value orientation and collectivism scores significantly and positively predicted subgroup account allocation values,while superordinate group identity were significant negative predictors;on the superordinate group account,only the superordinate group identity had a significant positive predictive relationship,while the predictive effects of all other variables were unstable.Study 2 explored whether participants’ perceptions of their group identity reclassification could enhance the corresponding level of group identity and thus influence their resource allocation preferences across the three accounts in the nested social dilemma by manipulating the common fate to highlight individuals’ different levels of group identity(subgroup identity classification vs.superordinate group identity classification).A total of302 valid questionnaires were collected through Credamo online questionnaire platform,including 142 participants in the subgroup identity classification condition and 160 participants in the superordinate group identity classification condition.The results of the study found that when participants were reclassified to the subgroup identity condition,the highest value was assigned to the subgroup account,followed by the personal account,and the least to the superordinate group account,which shows that when the subgroup identity was highlighted it suppressed their concern for the superordinate group’s interests and also activated the participants to defend their personal interests;when participants were reclassified to the superordinate group identity condition,this phenomenon of subgroup preference disappeared,there was no significant difference in the assigned values between the three accounts,and the significant difference for the two levels of group identity also disappeared.When the contributions on the superordinate group account were compared separately,it was found that the assigned values in the superordinate group identity classification condition were significantly higher than those in the subgroup identity condition.An exploration of the psychological mechanisms behind this revealed that group identity played a mediating role in the relationship between group identity reclassification and cooperation behavior.To sum up,the level of identification with different hierarchical groups is the core influencing factor that determines whether people are willing to make allocative intentions to their corresponding accounts.Therefore,reclassification through a strategy that emphasizes common destiny and evokes upper-level group identity perception can enhance upper-level group identity,thus promoting people’s cooperative behaviors that contribute resources to the collective.This study complements the empirical research on the internal mechanism of Common ingroup identity model which can promote higher-level group cooperative behavior,and in terms of practical applications,provides a psychological basis and suggestions for enhancing individuals’ collective and social rationality and building harmonious intergroup relations and social governance.