Altruistic or expected leadership? Laboratory evidence on what motivates pro-social influence

Mauricio Fernández-Duque and Michael J. Hiscox

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2023, vol. 94, issue C

Abstract: We provide experimental evidence to assess whether pro-social leading is motivated by altruism or by a desire to conform with expectations. A sizable minority of individuals act more pro-socially when they can influence others. Whether or not an individual acts more pro-socially when she can influence others, she wants her actions made public only if it will increase others’ pro-sociality, which turns out to be a telltale sign of altruism. Despite some evidence that pro-social leading is partly driven by conformity, altruism wins the day.

Keywords: Leadership; Reluctance; Social expectations; Altruism; Lab experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C7 C9 D8 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:94:y:2023:i:c:s0167487022000800

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2022.102569

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