Dictator game giving: altruism or artefact?
Dictator game giving: altruism or artefact?
Experimental dictator games have been used to explore unselfish behaviour. Evidence is presented here, however, that subjects’ generosity can be reversed by allowing them to take a partner’s money. Dictator game giving therefore does not reveal concern for consequences to others existing independently of the environment, as posited in rational choice theory. It may instead be an artefact of experimentation. Alternatively, evaluations of options depend on the composition of the choice set. Implications of these possibilities are explored for experimental methodology and charitable donations respectively. The data favour the artefact interpretation, suggesting that demand characteristics of experimental protocols merit investigation, and that economic analysis should not exclude context-specific social norms.
altruism, artificiality, experiments, methodology
1-12
Bardsley, Nicholas
4cc36030-2783-4def-a06f-9f2aee92663e
29 September 2007
Bardsley, Nicholas
4cc36030-2783-4def-a06f-9f2aee92663e
Abstract
Experimental dictator games have been used to explore unselfish behaviour. Evidence is presented here, however, that subjects’ generosity can be reversed by allowing them to take a partner’s money. Dictator game giving therefore does not reveal concern for consequences to others existing independently of the environment, as posited in rational choice theory. It may instead be an artefact of experimentation. Alternatively, evaluations of options depend on the composition of the choice set. Implications of these possibilities are explored for experimental methodology and charitable donations respectively. The data favour the artefact interpretation, suggesting that demand characteristics of experimental protocols merit investigation, and that economic analysis should not exclude context-specific social norms.
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Published date: 29 September 2007
Keywords:
altruism, artificiality, experiments, methodology
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Local EPrints ID: 47485
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/47485
ISSN: 1573-6938
PURE UUID: 25af2ec9-af33-4e27-894e-56c7546bf37c
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Date deposited: 01 Aug 2007
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 09:33
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Author:
Nicholas Bardsley
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