What is it about?
Addressing large-scale challenges such as climate change or smaller challenges such as team-working requires people to cooperate by prioritizing the common good (an inhabitable planet) over self-interest (consumption). One way to do so is to sanction self-interested non-cooperative behavior. But our research asked: If authorities (e.g., governments) express trust in people’s willingness to cooperate, can this sustain cooperation even when sanctions are lifted? In our experiments with more than 2,400 participants, we found this to be the case. If sanctions were removed, cooperation instantly dropped, but not when authorities expressed their trust in people’s ability to cooperate. These findings offer insights for policymakers and leaders: when removing sanctions, consider that expressing confidence in people’s cooperation, even in their absence, can be very helpful.
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Photo by Josue Isai Ramos Figueroa on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Many real-world systems (like public health systems or team-working environments) rely on voluntary cooperation, especially when constant rule enforcement isn’t possible. Understanding that trust-based communication can sustain cooperation helps leaders, policymakers, and organizations to promote long-term collaboration, especially when they no longer can rely on (often costly) monitoring and sanctions.
Perspectives
Our personal highlight of this finding is that it shows that people do live up to the trust placed in them – even if this is not backed by threats and punishment. Especially in the current political climate, where some leaders threaten other nations with sanctions to comply with their demands, this offers an encouraging perspective on how cooperation can thrive – not through pressure or control, but by fostering a belief in each other’s goodwill.
Ann-Christin Posten
University of Limerick
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Maintaining cooperation through vertical communication of trust when removing sanctions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, March 2025, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415010122.
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