Observed Punishment Spillover Effects: A Laboratory Investigation of Behavior in a Social Dilemma

David Dickinson, E. Dutcher and Cortney Rodet ()

Working Papers from University of Central Missouri, Department of Economics & Finance

Abstract: Punishment has been shown to be an effective reinforcement mechanism. Intentional or not, punishment will likely generate spillover effects that extend beyond one’s immediate decision environment, and these spillovers are not as well understood. We seek to understand these secondary spillover effects in a controlled lab setting using a standard social dilemma: the voluntary contributions mechanism. We find that spillovers occur when others observe punishment outside their own social dilemma. However, the direction of the spillover effect depends crucially on personal punishment history and whether one is personally exempt from punishment or not.

Keywords: Punishment; Punishment Spillovers; Vicarious Punishment; VCM; Social Dilemma; Experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C92 D03 H40 J24 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25 pages
Date: 2013-09, Revised 2013-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-exp
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Related works:
Journal Article: Observed punishment spillover effects: a laboratory investigation of behavior in a social dilemma (2015)
Working Paper: Observed Punishment Spillover Effects: A Laboratory Investigation of Behavior in a Social Dilemma (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:umn:wpaper:1301

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