Culture Clash: Incompatible Reputation Systems and Intergroup Conflict

Abstract: Under which conditions does intergroup contact lead to conflict? We provide a novel answer to this question by highlighting the role of reputation mechanisms in sustaining cooperation. Punishment-based reputation (a “culture of honor”) and reputation based on image scoring (indirect reciprocity) can both deter defection in one-time interactions within groups. Yet these reputation mechanisms can be incompatible in intergroup interactions. Using a game theoretic model, we show that injecting pools of individuals from a punishment-based culture into a culture of image scoring can lead to widespread intergroup conflict. Cooperation is a more likely outcome if the cultures that interact use a similar reputation mechanism. The theoretical framework helps us explain a variety of phenomena, such as variation in immigrant crime rates and patterns of outgroup discrimination.