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Home | Events | Under Watchful Eyes: In-Group Observation Promotes Intergroup Cooperation in Natural Groups
Seminar

Under Watchful Eyes: In-Group Observation Promotes Intergroup Cooperation in Natural Groups

  • Location
    Tinbergen Institute Amsterdam, room 1.01
    Amsterdam
  • Date and time

    October 09, 2025
    12:00 - 13:00

Promoting cooperation between different groups remains one of society's biggest challenges. We examine whether such intergroup cooperation can be fostered through in-group observation, using a lab-in-the-field experiment in Papua New Guinea. Our key result is that observation by an in-group member increases the share of people who cooperate with members of other communities from 17 percent to 70 percent, thereby eliminating the in-group bias in cooperation. We relate this to a shared understanding among participants that intergroup cooperation is socially desirable. Our findings suggest that policymakers, communities, and organizations may leverage in-group observation to improve intergroup cooperation.