Social Influence in Prosocial Behavior:Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment

Lorenz Goette and Egon Tripodi

No 13078, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We propose an experiment that prevents social learning and allows to disentangle mechanisms of social influence. Subjects observe another individual's incentives, but not their behavior. We find conformity: when individuals believe that incentives make others contribute more, they also increase their contributions. Conformity is driven by individuals who feel socially close to their partner. However, when incentives don't raise others' contributions, individuals reduce contributions. This pattern cannot be explained by incentive inequality (Breza et al., 2017). We conclude that norm adherence is weakened when incentives are ineffective. Our results show that information about others' economic environment generates social influence

Keywords: Prosocial behavior; Social influence; Online experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-exp, nep-hpe and nep-soc
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Journal Article: Social Influence in Prosocial Behavior: Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment (2021)
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