Status Facilitates Cooperative Behaviour in Public Goods Games by Enhancing Perspective-Taking: The Moderating Effect of Power

Status, distinct from socioeconomic status and power, refers to the prestige and admiration an individual receives from others based on that individual's traits and performance. Existing research has emphasised the distinctions between status and other social hierarchies but has paid less attention to its effects on interactive behaviour, particularly cooperation. This research systematically investigated how status shaped cooperative behaviour in public goods games, uncovering its underlying mechanism and boundary conditions. Study 1 used the story recall method to manipulate status and found that status facilitated cooperative behaviour by enhancing perspective-taking. Study 2 provided robust causal evidence for perspective-taking as the mediating mechanism through a manipulation-of-mediation-as-a-moderator design. Study 3 used a role-playing method to manipulate status and introduced power as a moderator, revealing that only under low power conditions did high status enhance perspective-taking, thus promoting cooperative behaviour. A supplemental study further indicated that high-status individuals' heightened perspective-taking and cooperative behaviour were primarily driven by strategic self-enhancement motivation. These findings illuminate the distinct pathways through which status fosters cooperation, contingent upon the level of power held.