Effects of Positive and Negative Experiences on Cooperative Behavior: The Role of Sharedness

Abstract

Cooperation is a fundamental ingredient of society. However, research on the effects of positive and negative experiences on cooperation remain largely inconsistent. Therefore, through two experiments, the present study examined the effects of positive and negative experiences on cooperative behavior, and the moderation effect of sharedness on this relationship. In Study 1, we directly compared positive and negative experiences in the same context. Seventy-four students participated the experiment (Mage = 19.88, SDage = 2.21). Results showed that participants reported higher levels of cooperative behavior in negative experiences than in positive experiences. In Study 2, we examined the moderation effect of sharedness on the relationship between positive/negative experiences and cooperative behavior. The result of the experiments involving 126 participants (Mage = 19.53, SDage = 1.14) showed a significant interaction effect between positive/negative experiences and sharedness on cooperative behavior. Participants exhibited higher level of cooperative behavior in shared negative experiences than in shared positive experiences, while there were no significant differences in cooperative behavior between unshared negative and positive experiences. These results suggested that shared negative experiences could facilitate cooperative behavior.