Search results for "Social Preferences"
showing 9 items of 19 documents
Hold up and intergenerational transmission of preferences
2004
This paper focuses on the formation, evolution and stability of the distribution of preferences in the population and its relationship with the investment and bargaining strategies in a simplified hold up problem. More precisely, in our model a population of infinitely-lived players (say, for example, firms) with homogeneous selfish or self-regarding preferences is pair-wise matched at each period with a population of an equal size of short-lived players (say, for example, workers) with heterogeneous preferences. Both types of player play a two-stage game. In the first stage, they decide separately but simultaneously whether to make a general or a relation-specific investment. The latter ty…
The neuropeptide Pth2 modulates social behavior and anxiety in zebrafish
2021
SummaryAnimal behavior is strongly context-dependent and behavioral performance is often modulated by internal state. In particular, different social contexts can alter anxiety levels and modulate social behavior. The vertebrate-specific neuropeptide parathyroid hormone 2 (pth2) is directly regulated by the presence or absence of conspecifics in zebrafish. As its cognate receptor, the parathyroid hormone 2 receptor (pth2r), is widely expressed across the brain, we tested fish lacking the functional Pth2 peptide in several anxiety-related and social paradigms. Rodents lacking PTH2 display increased anxiety-related behavior. Here we show that the propensity to react to sudden stimuli with an …
Carry a big stick, or no stick at all
2016
We investigate the effect of costly punishment in a trust game with endowment heterogeneity. Our findings indicate that the difference between the investor and the allocator’s initial endowments determines the effect of punishment on trust and trustworthiness. Punishment fosters trust only when the investor is wealthier than the allocator. Otherwise, punishment fails to promote trusting behavior. As for trustworthiness, the effect is just the opposite. The higher the difference between the investor and the allocator’s initial endowments, the less willing allocators are to pay back. We discuss the consistency of our findings with social preference models (like inequality aversion, reciprocit…
Preference for Identification in the Field – Nudging Refugees’ Integration Effort
2019
Social identity greatly affects behavior. However, less is known about individual’s investment into identification, i.e. into belonging to a social group. We design a field experiment that allows us to make effort as an investment into a new group identity salient. The social identity in our treatment is refugee’s identification with the host society. We modified a mailing to 5600 refugees who use an online language-learning platform to learn the host countries’ language. These treatment emails make salient that improving the host country’s language ability increases the belonging to the host society. Our analysis reveals that the treatment has a significant positive effect on the effort ex…
The Structure and Behavioural Effects of Revealed Social Identity Preferences
2020
A large body of evidence shows that social identity affects behaviour. However, our understanding of the substantial variation of these behavioural effects is still limited. We use a novel laboratory experiment to measure differences in preferences for social identities as a potential source of behavioural heterogeneity. Facing a trade-off between monetary payments and belonging to different groups, individuals are willing to forego significant earnings to avoid belonging to certain groups. We then show that individual differences in these foregone earnings correspond to the differences in discriminatory behaviour towards these groups. Our results illustrate the importance of considering in…
Active Learning on Trust and Reciprocity for Undergraduates
2019
We propose a teaching activity aimed at promoting social values, such as trust and reciprocity, among undergraduate students in economics and related degrees. We present our pilot experience of what we call RED&ndash
Reciprocity, matching and conditional cooperation in two public goods games
2005
Previous experimental and empirical evidence has identified social preferences in the voluntary provision of public goods. A number of competing models of such preferences have been proposed. We provide evidence for one model of behavior in these games, reciprocity (or matching, or conditional cooperation). Consistent with previous research, we find that participants in the voluntary contribution mechanism attempt to match the contributions of others in their group. We also examine participants in a related game with different equilibria, the weakest-link mechanism. Here, in contrast, participants contribute so as to match the minimum contribution of others in their group.
"Rational herding in crowdfunding, social preferences under uncertainty, and overplacement in known and unknown tasks: a behavioral approach"
2020
It has been proved in this dissertation how experimental economics continues to be a tool that, as it nourishes theoretical economics (and viceversa), it keeps producing results that are necessary to understand how to articulate social relations which, ultimately, have consequences oneconomic relations. Specifically, Chapter 1 has studied how the dissemination of new information affects crowdfunding markets and the generation of herding behaviour. Specifically, we provide evidence in that such behaviour is rational and could be well moulded through optimal choice under uncertainty with Bayesian review of beliefs. In this sense, the effect of the first sponsors on the agents# behaviour has b…
Binds of Professionalism: Attachment in Australian and Finnish Early Years Policy
2016
Attachment theory is often referenced in psychology, social work and early childhood care and education, and is ubiquitous in popular publications directed to parents, carers and educators of young children. It is considered as a ‘grand theory’ that explains “the growth of social relationships from infants’ experiences with their caregivers and the consequent social preference called attachment” (Mercer, 2011, p. 26). In this chapter, we understand attachment theory as a discourse and as part of the ‘psy-complex’, “the sprawling speculative and regulative network of theories and practices that constitute psychology” (Parker, 2002, p. 199). We focus on the operation of ‘attachment discourses…