A neurocognitive mechanism for increased cooperation during group formation

How do group size changes influence cooperation within groups? To examine this question, we performed a dynamic, network-based prisoner’s dilemma experiment with fMRI. Across 83 human participants, we observed increased cooperation as group size increased. However, our computational modeling analysis of behavior and fMRI revealed that groups size itself did not increase cooperation. Rather, interaction between (1) participants’ stable prosocial tendencies, and (2) dynamic reciprocal strategy weighed by memory confidence, underlies the group size-modulated increase in cooperation because the balance between them shifts towards the prosocial tendency with higher memory demands in larger groups. We found that memory confidence was encoded in fusiform gyrus and precuneus, whereas its integration with prosocial tendencies was reflected in the left DLPFC and dACC. Therefore, interaction between recall uncertainty during reciprocal interaction (i.e., forgetting) and one’s individual prosocial preference is a core pillar of emergent cooperation in more naturalistic and dynamic group formation. When group size in a dynamic group-based prisoner''s dilemma grows, cooperative choices increase. Increased memory demands in larger groups explain this prosocial tendency.