Social Norms and Cooperation

Does altruism lead to success? The study of 292 students across 16 Swiss school classes shows that altruism doesn’t improve grades directly. Instead, altruistic students are more likely to become embedded in prosocial friendship and cooperation networks, and it is this social embeddedness that predicts better academic outcomes. In short, altruism pays off through the social environments it helps create, highlighting how individual costs can be offset by collective benefits.

Why do scientists engage in misconduct and what are individual and structural drivers for this behavior? In this new study, the authors examine the hidden social dynamics behind questionable research practices and severe scientific misconduct. Drawing on the Zurich Survey of Academics with survey data from scientists in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland their findings challenge a widespread belief: it is not just structural pressure, but feelings of alienation and internalized social norms that shape behavior in science. The study sheds new light on how integrity, norms, and rational choice intersect, and what that means for the future of research culture.

How do Swiss, Austrian, and German scientists view questionable research practices? A new article in Scientometrics by Antonia Velicu, Fabian Winter, Justus Rathmann, and Heiko Rauhut investigates the connection between scientists’ associations towards scientific misconduct and its relation to perceived academic success.