Stress, Ethnicity, and Prosocial Behavior

Sara Lowes, Johannes Haushofer, Abednego Musau, David David Ndetei, Nathan Nunn, Moritz Poll and Nancy Qian

No 17557, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: While observational evidence suggests that people behave more prosocially towards members of their own ethnic group, many laboratory studies fail to find this effect. One possible explanation is that coethnic preference only emerges during times of stress. To test this hypothesis, we pharmacologically increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol, after which participants complete laboratory experiments with coethnics and noncoethnics. We find mixed evidence that increased cortisol decreases prosocial behavior. Coethnic preferences do not vary with cortisol. However, in contrast to previous studies, we find strong and robust evidence of coethnic preference.

Keywords: Cooperation; Social preferences; Ethnicity; Stress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O12 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-10
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Journal Article: Stress, Ethnicity, and Prosocial Behavior (2023)
Working Paper: Stress, Ethnicity, and Prosocial Behavior (2022)
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