In the hindsight, I still feel that the phenomenon is interesting and potentially important topic to look into. I am not aware of any attempt to replicate or dive deeper though.
As for my attempt to explain the psychology underlying the phenomenon I am not entirely happy with it. It’s based only on introspection and lacks sound game-theoretic backing.
By the way, there’s one interesting explanation I’ve read somewhere in the meantime (unfortunately, I don’t remember the source):
Cooperation may incur different costs on different participants. If you are well-off, putting $100 into a common pool is not a terribly important matter. If others fail to cooperate all you can lose is $100. If you just barely getting along, putting $100 into a common pool may threaten you in a serious way. Therefore, rich will be more likely to cooperate than poor. Now, if the thing is framed in moral terms (those cooperating are “good”, those not cooperating are “bad”) the whole thing may feel like a scam providing the rich a way to buy moral superiority. As a poor person you may thus resort to anti-social punishment as a way to punish the scam.
It does not apply to this game where punishing cooperators are strictly worse off for everyone, but it does talk about how for poor people the best choice may be to do the low risk, low reward action.
Author here.
In the hindsight, I still feel that the phenomenon is interesting and potentially important topic to look into. I am not aware of any attempt to replicate or dive deeper though.
As for my attempt to explain the psychology underlying the phenomenon I am not entirely happy with it. It’s based only on introspection and lacks sound game-theoretic backing.
By the way, there’s one interesting explanation I’ve read somewhere in the meantime (unfortunately, I don’t remember the source):
Cooperation may incur different costs on different participants. If you are well-off, putting $100 into a common pool is not a terribly important matter. If others fail to cooperate all you can lose is $100. If you just barely getting along, putting $100 into a common pool may threaten you in a serious way. Therefore, rich will be more likely to cooperate than poor. Now, if the thing is framed in moral terms (those cooperating are “good”, those not cooperating are “bad”) the whole thing may feel like a scam providing the rich a way to buy moral superiority. As a poor person you may thus resort to anti-social punishment as a way to punish the scam.
Related: The Schelling Choice is “Rabbit”, not “Stag”
It does not apply to this game where punishing cooperators are strictly worse off for everyone, but it does talk about how for poor people the best choice may be to do the low risk, low reward action.