Contagion of Pro- and Anti-Social Behavior among Peers and the Role of Social Proximity

Eugen Dimant

No 8263, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This paper uses a novel experimental design to study the contagion of pro- and anti-social behavior and the role of social proximity among peers. Across systematic variations thereof, we find that anti-social behavior is generally more contagious than pro-social behavior. Surprisingly, we also find that social proximity amplifies the contagion of anti-social behavior more strongly than the contagion of pro-social behavior. Anti-social individuals are also most susceptible to the behavioral contagion of other anti-social peers. These findings paired with the methodological contribution inform the design of effective norm-based policy interventions directed at facilitating pro-social behavior and reducing anti-social behavior in social and economic environments.

Keywords: behavioral contagion; peer effects; anti-social & pro-social behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D64 D90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp, nep-net, nep-soc and nep-ure
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https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp8263.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Contagion of pro- and anti-social behavior among peers and the role of social proximity (2019)
Working Paper: Contagion of Pro- and Anti-Social Behavior Among Peers and the Role of Social Proximity (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8263

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