In this episode, Dr Jess welcomes Richard Coates back to the podcast to discuss the science of human cooperation and what it means for teams working under pressure in healthcare and beyond.
Richard, who is a psychologist and ProSocial facilitator, introduces ProSocial - a framework rooted in three interlocking theories.
He begins with evolutionary science, exploring why cooperation is not just a nice-to-have but a fundamental survival advantage, and why the story of Western individualism runs counter to biological and social reality.
The conversation moves into the remarkable work of Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom, whose eight core design principles offer a practical blueprint for effective, fair, and sustainable cooperation.
Richard and Dr Jess explore what those principles look like in practice, from shared identity and purpose to graduated responses to unhelpful behaviour, and why transparency within groups is so often the first thing to erode when things go wrong.
This is part one of a two-part conversation. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss part two which will be released in a fortnight.
Links:
ProSocial World: https://www.prosocial.world
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Written and hosted by Dr. Jessica Barton
Produced by Anthony Zahra
Music Credit: SigmaMusicArt
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