Abstract:

We report an experiment on individual and group behavior in intergroup conflict as modeled by the Intergroup Prisoner's Dilemma (IPD) game (Bornstein, 1992). The game was played repeatedly either with or without intra-group communication in an attempt to distinguish the dynamic process associated with reciprocation at the intergroup level from that resulting from adaptation at the individual level. We found that without communication, individuals gradually learned that it does not pay to contribute. The overall effect of within-group communication was to increase individual contribution. However, this effect varied greatly in later stages of the game. In some cases intragroup communication eliminated individual contribution, rewarding the members of both teams with the mutually cooperative outcome, while in other cases it intensified the intergroup conflict to its maximal level of full contribution. The implications for these findings to conflict resolution are discussed.

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