People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

[Tank]

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

Fundamentally people behave in a social and rather compassionate and "good" way rather than aggressively, even without specified rules. That is the result of a study from the Institute for Science of Complex Systems at the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Stefan Thurner and Michael Szell. They analysed the behaviour of more than 400,000 participants of the "Virtual Life" game "Pardus" on the Internet. The findings are that only two percent of all actions are aggressive, even though the game would make it easy for war-like attacks with spaceships, for example...

Interesting study but is it just me or isn't it blindingly obvious that the game participents will take their real world ethics/morality into the virtual reality? Thus they will take a 'rule set' with them.

[pytheas]

lord of the flies

you need to learn true self discipline to the youngsters, so that they can choose and withstand the turmoil of vagrant amorality
you need to implement self organisation and social consiousness to equip the folks to maintain an equal cooperative anarchic team

----------------------------------------

however, the data is not suprising. 400000 participants from where? most likely not places like angola or nigeria. the prerequisite computer literacy to participate, what package of associated "civility" does it carry? No rules, apparently- not actually

[Stevil]

We are all amoral.

Even without written rules, I have no doubt people for the most part will act amicably. If we act horribly to others then we paint a target on ourselves. The threat of violent retaliation from individuals or groups will always be there.  It is in our best interests to act compassionately and behave in a socially acceptable way.

[Davin]

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

Fundamentally people behave in a social and rather compassionate and "good" way rather than aggressively, even without specified rules. That is the result of a study from the Institute for Science of Complex Systems at the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Stefan Thurner and Michael Szell. They analysed the behaviour of more than 400,000 participants of the "Virtual Life" game "Pardus" on the Internet. The findings are that only two percent of all actions are aggressive, even though the game would make it easy for war-like attacks with spaceships, for example...

Interesting study but is it just me or isn't it blindingly obvious that the game participents will take their real world ethics/morality into the virtual reality? Thus they will take a 'rule set' with them.

I can't read the article because it seems the site is down for maintenance, but I'd assume that the reason they're acting decently is because the game isn't based around blowing eachother up. Most online mulitplayer games are based around forcing competition between players, when it's forced the people will, but if there are no rules and accomplishing things doesn't revolve around having to defeat other players, then most people won't treat other people like crap. That and they're probably not 13 year old xbox live players.

But like I said, my assumptions without yet being able to read the article.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

lord of the flies

you need to learn true self discipline to the youngsters, so that they can choose and withstand the turmoil of vagrant amorality
you need to implement self organisation and social consiousness to equip the folks to maintain an equal cooperative anarchic team

----------------------------------------

however, the data is not suprising. 400000 participants from where? most likely not places like angola or nigeria. the prerequisite computer literacy to participate, what package of associated "civility" does it carry? No rules, apparently- not actually

I immediately thought of Lord of the Flies.  You can put a bunch of 2-4 year-olds in a room, and without adult supervision, eventually someone would get killed, usually the one thought to be the weaker one.  Since we are essentially self-centered (we start out by wanting stuff), unless guided toward a more altruistic mindset, we would just get more and more self-centered.  Like Tank said, the participants brought their prior socialization with them.

[philosoraptor]

I'll agree that people bring their prior socialization with them, but here's the thing-the anonymity of the internet can turn mild mannered folk into raging douche nuggets.  When hiding behind a screen, people seem to feel empowered to say the sort of things most people might think, but would never say out loud.  Of course that's not everyone, but it's a fairly well-documented phenomenon and I think it's relevant to discuss in conjunction with the topic at hand.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

I'll agree that people bring their prior socialization with them, but here's the thing-the anonymity of the internet can turn mild mannered folk into raging douche nuggets.  When hiding behind a screen, people seem to feel empowered to say the sort of things most people might think, but would never say out loud.  Of course that's not everyone, but it's a fairly well-documented phenomenon and I think it's relevant to discuss in conjunction with the topic at hand.

It's sort of the same phenomenon as driving a car - nice people can turn nasty behind the wheel. 

[DeterminedJuliet]

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

Fundamentally people behave in a social and rather compassionate and "good" way rather than aggressively, even without specified rules. That is the result of a study from the Institute for Science of Complex Systems at the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Stefan Thurner and Michael Szell. They analysed the behaviour of more than 400,000 participants of the "Virtual Life" game "Pardus" on the Internet. The findings are that only two percent of all actions are aggressive, even though the game would make it easy for war-like attacks with spaceships, for example...

Interesting study but is it just me or isn't it blindingly obvious that the game participents will take their real world ethics/morality into the virtual reality? Thus they will take a 'rule set' with them.

I agree with you, Tank. Even though it's on an "online world", I don't think that removes all of the variables. Virtual video-games have their own social-context and I don't really know how applicable it would be to real-world situations.

It's a nice thought, though.

[Firebird]

Yeah, call me skeptical too. An online game is not the same thing as real human interaction.  Sure, I can be a pirate in virtual space. Doesn't mean I'm going to go take a boat out into sea and start hijacking yachts in real life.

[Tank]

Yeah, call me skeptical too. An online game is not the same thing as real human interaction.  Sure, I can be a pirate in virtual space. Doesn't mean I'm going to go take a boat out into sea and start hijacking yachts in real life.

So you say. I bet you're posting from Somalia 

[AnefIsEnuf]

I think that what we consider to be "moral" behavior is absolutely necessary for the survival of our species, and clearly throughout history what is and what is not considered to be "moral" has evolved, itself. This behavior is learned, and most likely will shift within our own lifetime, but the core principles are typically learned at a very early age. Young children have virtually no natural concept of morality, it is usually taught by parents (and other family members, and ultimately teachers, and society in general, and so on and so forth.) These behaviors are so deeply ingrained starting at a young age, that they simply become second nature for most. Obviously, this excludes people who may suffer from personality or brain disorders that affect their ability to experience empathy, but otherwise it is true for most of us. It would be very difficult for a healthy person to just shut that off completely. Cheat a little? Sure. But not just completely abandon them. I do agree with the OP, in that even without rules, people are going to hold onto the principles that they have lived their entire lives with. Historically, human beings that worked cooperatively were far more likely to survive and thrive than those who were unable to coexist. If we were wired to just drop these behaviors entirely every time someone isn't looking, I suspect it would be pretty bad news all around.
I don't have any studies to back me up, this is just my opinion.

[Firebird]

Yeah, call me skeptical too. An online game is not the same thing as real human interaction.  Sure, I can be a pirate in virtual space. Doesn't mean I'm going to go take a boat out into sea and start hijacking yachts in real life.

So you say. I bet you're posting from Somalia 

If I was an atheist in Somalia, I'd be more worried about surviving in the real world rather than online

Historically, human beings that worked cooperatively were far more likely to survive and thrive than those who were unable to coexist. If we were wired to just drop these behaviors entirely every time someone isn't looking, I suspect it would be pretty bad news all around.
I don't have any studies to back me up, this is just my opinion.

Good point. I do think our ability to thrive as a species has to do with our ability to cooperate and work together. For example, it's amazing to think that we can go to a supermarket and just buy all the safe food we need, considering all the work and people that are involved in growing, feeding, slaughtering, packaging, inspecting, and delivering all that food to us. Happens throughout this world, and we just expect it.

[En_Route]

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

Fundamentally people behave in a social and rather compassionate and "good" way rather than aggressively, even without specified rules. That is the result of a study from the Institute for Science of Complex Systems at the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Stefan Thurner and Michael Szell. They analysed the behaviour of more than 400,000 participants of the "Virtual Life" game "Pardus" on the Internet. The findings are that only two percent of all actions are aggressive, even though the game would make it easy for war-like attacks with spaceships, for example...

Interesting study but is it just me or isn't it blindingly obvious that the game participents will take their real world ethics/morality into the virtual reality? Thus they will take a 'rule set' with them.

As an extinguished academic I always enjoyed the joke that went along the lines that research shows that 90% of research findings are crap. Like the best jokes it contained more than a grain of truth (in this case , closer to a bushel); see for example
http://www.naturalnews.com/031121_medical_research_fraud.html

[Amicale]

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules

Fundamentally people behave in a social and rather compassionate and "good" way rather than aggressively, even without specified rules. That is the result of a study from the Institute for Science of Complex Systems at the MedUni Vienna under the leadership of Stefan Thurner and Michael Szell. They analysed the behaviour of more than 400,000 participants of the "Virtual Life" game "Pardus" on the Internet. The findings are that only two percent of all actions are aggressive, even though the game would make it easy for war-like attacks with spaceships, for example...

Interesting study but is it just me or isn't it blindingly obvious that the game participents will take their real world ethics/morality into the virtual reality? Thus they will take a 'rule set' with them.

In the 'online world', whether you're a member of a web forum or a member of a virtual life game like Pardus (or Second Life, etc), I think we all do take a rule set with us, for sure. But I think it goes beyond whether or not we're actually expected to play by the rules. For the majority of people (with the exception of the usual trolls and trouble makers), I believe most of us join an interactive website with the purpose/intention of meeting new people, learning new things, and having fun. And in time, you do start to get to know the people you're interacting with, even if you're just interacting with a character. You still come to like them, and appreciate them, and you want them to like you or at least respect you, as well. So to accomplish that, I'd say that most of us put our best foot forward.

Even in a game simulation like Pardus, I'd imagine that the people who play it do so regularly, and "get to know" fellow players/characters. So really, it's just an extension of a social setting for a lot of people. And in any social, generally amicable setting, you do usually want to relax and have fun rather than ruin the setting by upsetting others. It's the same reason the regular posters here at HAF would probably interact very well with one another, even if admins weren't around to set the rules -- people like each other here, or at least find one another interesting. Just my thoughts, anyhow.