Justifying Decisions in Social Dilemmas: Justification Pressures and Tacit Coordination Under Environmental Uncertainty

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 33; no. 12; pp. 1648 - 1660
• Main Authors: de Kwaadsteniet, Erik W., van Dijk, Eric, Wit, Arjaan, De Cremer, David, de Rooij, Mark
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2007; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adult; Choice Behavior; Cognition & reasoning; Conservation of Natural Resources; Cooperative Behavior; Coordination; Decision Making; Environmental aspects; Female; Harvest; Humans; Justification; Male; Resource allocation; Social Conformity; Social dilemmas; Social psychology; Social Responsibility; Uncertainty; tacit coordination; social dilemmas; equality; environmental uncertainty; accountability
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/0146167207307490

This article investigates how justification pressures influence harvesting decisions in common resource dilemmas. The authors argue that when a division rule prescribes a specific harvest level, such as under environmental certainty, people adhere more strongly to this division rule when they have to justify their decisions to fellow group members. When a division rule does not prescribe a specific harvest level, such as under environmental uncertainty, people restrict their harvests when they have to justify their decisions to fellow group members. The results of two experimental studies corroborate this line of reasoning. The findings are discussed in terms of tacit coordination. The authors specify conditions under which justification pressures may or may not facilitate efficient coordination.