Absolute power and the development of cooperation
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TR Number
Date
1975
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
Virginia Tech
Abstract
Pairs of male subjects played an experimental game designed to investigate the antecedent conditions necessary for the development of cooperation. Subjects were assigned to one of four absolute power conditions and then were shifted to a condition of equal power. The results indicate that when individuals have been subjected to conditions of absolute power whereby another individual is determining their outcomes or payoffs, cooperation is facilitated by equity in payoffs.