Belief Updating about Moral Norms: Does Group Identity Matter?

David L. Dickinson () and Marie Claire Villeval ()
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David L. Dickinson: Appalachian State University, Boone, USA; ESI (Chapman University), Orange, USA; IZA, Bonn, Germany
Marie Claire Villeval: CNRS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Jean-Monnet Saint-Etienne, emlyon business school, GATE, 69007, Lyon, France; IZA, Bonn, Germany

No 2513, Working Papers from Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon St-Étienne (GATE Lyon St-Étienne), Université de Lyon

Abstract: We investigate how group identity affects belief updating about moral norms. Using a Belief Updating task, we found that individuals follow a cautious version of Bayesian updating. Group identity itself does not directly affect belief updating. However, when given an information signal about the truthfulness of a normative statement that is dissonant with one’s perceived norm, individuals differ in their resistance to updating beliefs. This difference depends on whether the statement reflects moral norm judgments from people with the same or different political affiliation, and whether the signal supports or opposes honesty. This highlights the importance of understanding how one updates beliefs regarding moral norms, and how the group identity of those making normative judgments can be an important consideration.

Keywords: Cheating; social norms; belief updating; group identity; online experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D83 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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