Social image, observer identity, and crowding up

Yamit Asulin, Yuval Heller, Nira Munichor and Ro'i Zultan

Games and Economic Behavior, 2025, vol. 152, issue C, 37-54

Abstract: People behave more pro-socially when observed by others. We develop a theoretical model incorporating social distance between agent and observer and test its predictions in a field experiment with 670 high-school students. The experiment manipulated the observer's identity (friend, acquaintance, or none) and capped personal rewards. Observability increased effort, and personal rewards enhanced above-threshold effort when effort was observable. Among young adolescents, these effects were stronger when observed by an acquaintance rather than a friend. While partly exploratory, our findings suggest a positive correlation between social distance and social-image effects.

Keywords: Social image; Social distance; Field experiment; Crowding up; Prosocial behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:152:y:2025:i:c:p:37-54

DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.003

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