NWO open competition L grant awarded for research on cooperation between groups

Carsten de Dreu (BSS, FEB) and Zsombor Méder (FEB) have been awarded an NWO Open Competition L grant of €800,000 for their research project, CrossCoop. With this grant, they will investigate how cooperation between different groups emerges and develops.

Through CrossCoop, De Dreu and Méder will study when, how, and why people are willing to cooperate not only with members of their own group but also with members of other groups. The project is based on the idea that this so-called universal cooperation is more or less likely to emerge depending on the circumstances. The researchers expect that factors such as reward structures and differences in economic prosperity and power determine whether people extend their cooperation to members of other groups.

To test these predictions, the researchers will combine behavioural experiments with evolutionary simulations. This approach will help them better understand how cooperation between groups develops and under what conditions it can grow into a stable foundation for complex organizations and societies.

The researchers hope that the project will not only generate new insights into the psychological and economic foundations of human cooperation, but also provide guidance for policies aimed at preventing polarization and conflict.

Carsten de Dreu is Professor of Foundations of Cooperation and Social Organization and is affiliated with both the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Groningen. Zsombor Méder is Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, Econometrics and Finance at the Faculty of Economics and Business.