TY - JOUR
T1 - Indian caste names and cooperation in the Prisoner’s Dilemma
AU - Tiwari, Shambhavi
AU - Ścigała, Karolina Aleksandra
AU - Schild, Christoph
AU - Zettler, Ingo
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - Ingroup/outgroup categorisation is a repeatedly found phenomenon. Given the long-standing caste system, the Indian societal structure provides a unique perspective on such social categorisation. The Indian caste system contains hereditarily inherited identity roles defining profession and status-based hierarchies. In this preregistered experiment, we investigate the influence of caste-based identity on cooperation using a (hypothetical) Prisoner’s Dilemma. Specifically, Indian participants (N = 685) were paired with a (hypothetical) other in a Prisoner’s Dilemma, whose last name reflected either a general caste (i.e., a “high” caste) or a backward (“lower”) caste including the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and other backward classes. Because participants indicated belonging to a general or a backward caste themselves, they thus played the (hypothetical) Prisoner’s Dilemma with either a member of the same or a different caste group. We did not find that the partner’s caste group membership in terms of stemming from an ingroup (same caste) or outgroup (different caste) influenced participants’ cooperation. Further, we found participants from the general caste to be more cooperative when paired with (hypothetical) backward caste others (outgroup), compared to backward caste participants when paired with (hypothetical) general caste participants (outgroup); however, this difference disappeared once controlling for other demographic characteristics.
AB - Ingroup/outgroup categorisation is a repeatedly found phenomenon. Given the long-standing caste system, the Indian societal structure provides a unique perspective on such social categorisation. The Indian caste system contains hereditarily inherited identity roles defining profession and status-based hierarchies. In this preregistered experiment, we investigate the influence of caste-based identity on cooperation using a (hypothetical) Prisoner’s Dilemma. Specifically, Indian participants (N = 685) were paired with a (hypothetical) other in a Prisoner’s Dilemma, whose last name reflected either a general caste (i.e., a “high” caste) or a backward (“lower”) caste including the scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and other backward classes. Because participants indicated belonging to a general or a backward caste themselves, they thus played the (hypothetical) Prisoner’s Dilemma with either a member of the same or a different caste group. We did not find that the partner’s caste group membership in terms of stemming from an ingroup (same caste) or outgroup (different caste) influenced participants’ cooperation. Further, we found participants from the general caste to be more cooperative when paired with (hypothetical) backward caste others (outgroup), compared to backward caste participants when paired with (hypothetical) general caste participants (outgroup); however, this difference disappeared once controlling for other demographic characteristics.
KW - (hypothetical) Prisoner’s Dilemma
KW - caste
KW - cooperation
KW - ingroup
KW - outgroup
KW - Social Dominance Orientation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118852853&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/ajsp.12512
DO - 10.1111/ajsp.12512
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85118852853
SN - 1367-2223
VL - 25
SP - 489
EP - 503
JO - Asian Journal of Social Psychology
JF - Asian Journal of Social Psychology
IS - 3
ER -