The Relationships between Motivation, Goals, and Sanctions in Determining Levels of Cooperation over Diminishing Resources

Abstract

Environmental degradation and biodiversity loss are worldwide problems caused by human activities, which can often be classified as a resource dilemma. This thesis examines one of the more studied interventions in social dilemmas for increasing cooperative behaviour, namely sanctioning systems, in conjunction with one of the least studied factors in this area, i.e., intraindividual motivation and goals. Across three studies, and using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework, this thesis examines the relationships between motivation, goals, sanctioning systems and proenvironmental behaviour (PEB) in a resource dilemma (RD). The resource dilemma used in this thesis was a virtual, iterated, 2-person partnered design where each participant was required to make decisions about recreational fishing harvests in a small, private lake with an inferred partner. The ‘partner’ was not real, but was simulated by the program in order to maximize experimental control. Study 1 used mediational analysis to demonstrate that quality of motivation will affect goal content, and goal content will predict proenvironmental behaviour in an RD. Study 2 introduced a centralized sanctioning system to the RD, and found that this type of sanctioning system increased PEB in the RD when added, and decreased PEB when removed, concomitantly affecting the quality of participant motivation. Study 3 introduced a decentralized sanction system to the RD concomitant with pre-written communication for/against the inferred partner. Results demonstrated that self-determined motivation positively predicted the use of positive feedback messages, and negatively predicted the use of monetary sanctions. The results of this thesis expand upon SDT, and point to the potential importance of thorough examinations into the relationship between motivation and cooperation in RDs, and the importance of intraindividual factors in RD research. Moreover, it highlights the potential benefits and drawbacks of relying on sanctioning systems to increase PEBs in RDs.