Coupling with opinion dynamics promotes prosocial behavior in multilayer networks.

Coupling social dilemma layers with opinion dynamics layers in multilayer networks significantly boosts cooperation, with increases observed across various network types and rules.

• Why it matters: Understanding how cooperation emerges in complex social systems is crucial, especially when interactions are diverse and not always competitive. This work addresses the gap by exploring how non-dilemmatic influences can promote prosocial behavior.
• What they did: An evolutionary game model was developed on multilayer networks, combining a prisoner's dilemma layer with a constant-selection opinion layer, analyzing the effects of their coupling on cooperation.
• The result: Coupling these layers consistently enhances cooperation, offering a promising strategy for designing systems that foster prosocial behavior in socio-ecological and organizational contexts.