Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
This paper studies a version of the Volunteer's Dilemma in which players sequentially observe someone in trouble and decide whether to help. Where preferences are identical, we show that if the frequency with which potential helpers appear is above some threshold, then as frequency of appearance increases, the probability that any individual stops diminishes, but the expected waiting time for help to appear is constant. Where costs of stopping differ among individuals, as the frequency of appearance increases, the expected waiting time for help to appear decreases, even though the probability that any individual stops diminishes.