Interesting… how so?

Recent research has implied that around half of the population is composed of wary cooperators, or strong reciprocators, who are driven to be “fair” but will retaliate if suckered. Are you thinking of this, or something else?

Either way, I'm excited to learn!

Ya, well, it is your nickel. I was just thinking in terms of what critt said about protecting the others aboard ship, but i guess that boat left along time ago.

I would have to do a lot more reading to answer you specifically but the best way to take care of free-riders is to empower them, they already expect punishment. What have you really accomplished by giving the student revenge over some so-called free-rider? Isn't it usually the student that is doing well and highly motivated, whose also doing the complaining? It sounds to me like you are the one looking for gratification and not the student under the duress of the bad old free-rider.

Interesting comment!

“I would have to do a lot more reading to answer you specifically but the best way to take care of free-riders is to empower them, they already expect punishment.”

I'm not sure that is true. Free-riding is a “rational” economic behavior, and is most frequently expresed by those who play games rationally (aspergers, autistics, the disinterested, etc.)

If free-riding is done in expectation of assured punishment, then it's not free-riding but a socially-aware and socially-costly strategy.

“Isn't it usually the student that is doing well and highly motivated, whose also doing the complaining?”

It can be, yes. They would be seeing their efforts going to benefit others unfairly. That said, in that situation the highly motivated student will become less motivated, unless the free rider is dealt with.

“It sounds to me like you are the one looking for gratification and not the student under the duress of the bad old free-rider.”

How so? Because I want motivated students, and not free-riders who get by through work other than their own?

There is nothing assured about expectations. Expectation is just a potential, it is a complex situation that becomes less complex when it is assured.

“That said, in that situation the highly motivated student will become less motivated, unless the free rider is dealt with.”

Just be sure to bring plenty of cheese and crackers to go with all that wine. Maybe if you take a point away every time they whine, it will be motivation enough for them. Yes, I know, poor highly picked on motivatied students.

You're right — my sentence was lazy. I should have written:

“If free-riding is done in expectation of punishment, then it's not free-riding but a socially-aware and socially-costly strategy.”

Now, to respond to what you wrote:

“Just be sure to bring plenty of cheese and crackers to go with all that wine. Maybe if you take a point away every time they whine, it will be motivation enough for them. Yes, I know, poor highly picked on motivated students.”

I'm not sure what you mean here — do you think that in a classroom that allows altruistic punishment, highly motivated students will be unfairly unpunished? Or that the punishment by highly-motivated punishment of lesser-motivated students will annoy a teacher?

Exactly. It is war and you are giving them what they want.

“do you think that in a classroom that allows altruistic punishment, highly motivated students will be unfairly unpunished?”

Altruistic punishment? That sounds like something Chairman Mao gave out to 60 million of his countrymen for being on the bottom of the resource pile.
I don’t thing the highly motivated students will be punished enough. Actually, I don’t think anyone should be punished, it should be a learning environment. They will learn about punishment enough when they start working for a corporation who thinks like you do. There are still plenty of them around.

“Or that the punishment by highly-motivated punishment of lesser-motivated students will annoy a teacher?”

I don’t think it will annoy the teacher at all, in fact I think he or she will enjoy it. He or she will start going to class just to watch the punishment of people he or she thinks of as lesser beings. Plus he or she will have formed a group in the classroom of the same mind. Unless you think someone who would free-ride as your equal? If you do think of them as your equal, why do you want to punish them?

I am sure much of my ignorance of this subject comes from not yet understanding what a free-rider or altruistic punishment is. Perhaps when I give the series another read or two I can talk more on this subject. In the mean time, I would like to read some feedback from your peers.

It’s coalitionary struggle [1] and it’s very human, yes.

“I am sure much of my ignorance of this subject comes from not yet understanding what a free-rider or altruistic punishment is. Perhaps when I give the series another read or two I can talk more on this subject. In the mean time, I would like to read some feedback from your peers.”

“Actually, I don’t think anyone should be punished, it should be a learning environment”

Learning involves both intrinsic (from inside of you) and extrinsic (from outside of you) motivations. Both these motivations can be in the form of punishment (intrinsically, feeling bad for not completing a task, extrinsically, receiving a bad grade for not completing a task) or reward (intrinsically, feeling good for completing your work, extrinsically, being added to the Deans’ list). A radical constructivist might believe you can do away with these, but I don’t think many others would.

“They will learn about punishment enough when they start working for a corporation who thinks like you do. “

I doubt many are organized as I would organize them. My thinking stresses delegation and distribution. Too many companies are centralized in too many things. Too many activists attack those who have better ideas [2]

“I am sure much of my ignorance of this subject comes from not yet understanding what a free-rider or altruistic punishment is. Perhaps when I give the series another read or two I can talk more on this subject.”

One definition of “free riders” is “those who enjoy the benefits of a public good without contributing to the costs of providing it” [3] For instance, if three students contribute to a group project, and the fourth student contributes nothing, the fourth student is a free-rider.

Altruism is selflessness. It evolves in creatures under relatively high levels of group selection (a quick example: in evolutionary environments where it is more likely to die in a genocide than a murder). Only four mammals exhibit coalitionary violence, which is considered a good sign of altruism: chimpanzees, dogs, humans, and wolves. Of all the mammals who exist, it is only these four that have noticeable altruistic tendencies. This is especially startling, when you consider that this list is actually a set of two pairs with relatively common ancestors (chimps/humans and dogs/wolves). Altruism is a basic human drive that is easily triggered and quite strong once expressed.

Altruistic punishment is punishment of a free-rider with no expectation that the punishment will benefit one’s self. It is as selfless as general altruism, and necessary for the formation of a generous society. Populations that become largely altruistic must also develop altruistic punishers, or else the free-riders will take over and the altruism genes will die out.

I greatly enjoy your comments, and those of my “peers” [4] as well

[1] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/10/15/learning-evolved-part-iii-coalitionary-education.html
[2] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/06/04/the-enemy-of-fingertip-feeling-and-resilience.html
[3] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/10/16/social-motivation-amongst-other-notes.html
[4] http://www.tdaxp.com/archive/2006/10/16/blogospheric-reaction-to-tdaxp-s-psychology-kick.html