Learning Whether to Cooperate in Novel Social Interactions

Human social life is rife with uncertainty. In any given social interaction, one can wonder: Is cooperating with this person in my long-term best interest? Many people resolve to play it safe by cooperating rather than behaving selfishly, likely because (a) most social interactions in everyday life have long-term consequences and (b) the costs of alienating oneself from long-term social partners often outweighs the short-term benefits of cheating them. However, since trusting and sharing with others does not always advance self-interest, people might also learn through experience whether cooperation benefits them in any particular situation. Here, we review several lines of evidence suggesting that people initially decide when to share and trust based on the incentives that are present in their daily lives, but that they can also learn through experience to adjust their cooperation decisions to match the incentives of novel situations.