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Poster Session B: Wednesday, August 13, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Mechanisms of Coordination for Cooperative and Competitive Interactions

Sepideh Khoneiveh¹, Giorgio L Manenti¹, Jan Gläscher²; ¹Universität Klinikum Eppendorf // University Hospital Eppendorf, ²University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Presenter: Sepideh Khoneiveh

How do individuals coordinate in dynamic social contexts that require switching between cooperative and competitive modes? We developed a two-player Social Foraging Task (SFT) where participants, without direct communication, freely choose between cooperative, competitive, or independent islands to coordinate and collect resources. Analysis revealed four key behaviors influencing coordination: value sensitivity, persistence, their interaction, and leader–follower dynamics. Clustering participants’ choices revealed three distinct strategies: economic, sticky, and mixed which each linked to different coordination patterns. To capture these, we built a computational model with two parameters: value sensitivity and persistence. In well-coordinated pairs, these parameters were more similar, suggesting strategic alignment supports stable interaction. Notably, uncoordinated choices were common but often purposeful, serving to re-establish coordination. These findings shed light on how people achieve, lose, and recover coordination in dynamic social settings.

Topic Area: Reward, Value & Social Decision Making

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