Blame and praise: responsibility attribution patterns in decision chains

Deepti Bhatia (), Urs Fischbacher (), Jan Hausfeld and Regina Stumpf ()
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Deepti Bhatia: Department of Economics, University of Konstanz
Urs Fischbacher: Department of Economics, University of Konstanz
Regina Stumpf: Department of Economics, University of Konstanz

Experimental Economics, 2024, vol. 27, issue 3, No 5, 637-663

Abstract: Abstract How do people attribute responsibility when an outcome is not caused by an individual but results from a decision chain involving several people? We study this question in an experiment, in which five voters sequentially decide on how to distribute money between them and five recipients. The recipients can reward or punish each voter, which we use as measures of responsibility attribution. In the aggregate, we find that responsibility is attributed mostly according to the voters’ choices and the pivotality of the decision, but not for being the initial voter. On the individual level, we find substantial heterogeneity with three overall patterns: Little to no responsibility attribution, pivotality-driven, and focus on choices. These patterns are similar when praising voters for good outcomes and blaming voters for bad outcomes.

Keywords: Responsibility attribution; Collective decision-making; Voting; Decision process; C91; C92; D63; D70; D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Working Paper: Blame and Praise: Responsibility Attribution Patterns in Decision Chains (2022)
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DOI: 10.1007/s10683-024-09833-1

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