This is a proposal submitted under Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER), employing laboratory methods to explore the feasibility of experimentally testing theoretical propositions developed through computer simulations. It will investigate the behavior of human subjects in a social dilemma in which they must choose between contributing to or withdrawing from a common fund, testing hypotheses concerning the classic problems of the free rider and the evolution of cooperation. Three hypotheses are to be tested: (1) Serial consistency in observed contribution will be smaller when the associated outcomes are negative and larger when they are positive. (2) The observed contribution rate increases with the rate of contribution by the simulated group. (3) The second hypothesis holds only in a public-goods condition and not in a private-goods condition. This is preliminary work that develops novel ideas, applies a new approach, and opens a new research area. Whatever the outcome of the three hypotheses, it will make a significant contribution in two ways. First, it will link the two methodologies of computer simulation and laboratory experimentation with human subjects, which can then be adopted by other researchers. Second, it will demonstrate that a promising set of new theoretical developments can be assessed empirically, thus opening the door to a number of valuable studies by other investigators.
