Altruistic Punishment in the Classroom: An Update on the Tragedy of the Commons Extra Credit Question

Abstract

A world-famous classroom exercise gives students the choice between 2 points (the communal option) or 6 points (the overconsumption option) of extra credit toward an assignment in their course, but if more than 10% choose 6 points, no one receives any points. In the current variation, students ( N = 795) were also given a third option—to sacrifice their own potential points to take away points from another randomly selected student who chose 6 points. Across seven course sections, 19 students chose this option based on the concept of “altruistic punishment,” with many expressing concern about the entire class losing points. Most students had a positive attitude toward the exercise, viewing that it helped them understand new material and increased their interest in psychology, believing that psychology can help solve social problems. This exercise effectively demonstrates group cooperation dilemmas.