nucleation

LIT-2002: Human cooperation is strong among individuals but fragile between groups

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Properties6
StatusActive
Version2
Tagssocial-identity, moral-psychology, society-and-governance
Cited as “grounds” byARG-052 — Van Lange and Bergmann's model of intergroup cooperation does not establish that cooperation within groups and the coexistence of groups are distinct targets that can trade off: it shows that the processes building in-group cooperation can fuel conflict between groups, and says nothing on whether groups persist, go extinct or are owed impartial concern
Cited as “paper” byNOTE-1537 — Van Lange and Bergmann — Human cooperation is strong among individuals but fragile between groups
Cited as “source” byTHEORY-1352 — In Van Lange and Bergmann's model, human cooperation is readily sustained between individuals, above all in dyads, through precise reciprocity, empathy and a partner who cannot be excluded at no cost, and is fragile between groups: categorization alone yields mistrust and in-group favouritism by bounded reciprocity, observed out-group favouritism hardens it into distrust, and only negative interdependence, real or perceived, turns that into costly competition, aggression and hate, so that the processes that build in-group cooperation can fuel intergroup conflict

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Van Lange, P. A. M., Bergmann, P. K. (2026). Human cooperation is strong among individuals but fragile between groups. Nature Reviews Psychology, 5, 546–559. doi:10.1038/s44159-026-00580-z.

Key takeaways

  • Dyads cooperate more readily than groups, through reciprocity, empathy and a partner who cannot be excluded at no cost (p. 550).
  • Mistrust between groups needs only categorization. In-group favouritism “need not imply … any harmful behaviour towards outgroups” (p. 553).
  • Conflicting interests, as perceived, drive escalation, and “the same processes that can establish ingroup cooperation can also fuel intergroup conflict” (p. 554).
  • Cooperation between groups can end in their merger “into larger collectives” (p. 555).

Standing in the record

The record holds intergroup material on categorization and entitativity (THEORY-1114, THEORY-1112) and on a fanbase set against an outside party (CLAIM-493). It holds nothing on whether cooperation survives between groups. CLAIM-547 says that within-group cooperation and between-group coexistence are distinct targets. The reading supports one link in it and not the rest (NOTE-1537).

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