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Monetary incentives versus class credit: Evidence from a large classroom trust experiment

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  • Luccasen, R. Andrew
  • Thomas, M. Kathleen

Abstract

This paper reports an experimental investigation of a trust game using either cash or class credit as incentives to participants. We recruit from two auditorium classes. In one class, each token has cash value; in the other, each token is worth extra-credit points added to the students’ overall average at the end of the semester. The results indicate that using extra-credit points to motivate participants generates qualitatively similar data on average as participants incentivized with cash. We do find a difference in behavior with second movers who expect a low grade, but those incentivized with class credit are closer to the game theoretic prediction.

Suggested Citation

  • Luccasen, R. Andrew & Thomas, M. Kathleen, 2014. "Monetary incentives versus class credit: Evidence from a large classroom trust experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 123(2), pages 232-235.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:123:y:2014:i:2:p:232-235
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2014.02.012
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    Cited by:

    1. Ding, Shuze & Lugovskyy, Volodymyr & Puzzello, Daniela & Tucker, Steven & Williams, Arlington, 2018. "Cash versus extra-credit incentives in experimental asset markets," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 19-27.
    2. Slawomir Kalinowski, 2020. "From expected utility theory to prospect theory: tracking down the experimental path after forty years," Operations Research and Decisions, Wroclaw University of Science Technology, Faculty of Management, vol. 30(4), pages 39-56.
    3. Gianluca Vagnani & Francesco Mazzurco, 2022. "Incidental Negative Life Events and the Disposition Effect at the Individual Level," Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(2), pages 1-1.
    4. Dennis Caplan & Kristian G. Mortenson & Marisa Lester, 2018. "Can incentives mitigate student overconfidence at grade forecasts?," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 27-47, January.
    5. Amalia Rodrigo-González & María Caballer-Tarazona & Aurora García-Gallego, 2019. "Active Learning on Trust and Reciprocity for Undergraduates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Smith, Alexander, 2015. "On the nature of pessimism in taking and giving games," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 50-57.
    7. Strohhecker, Jürgen & Leyer, Michael, 2019. "How stock-flow failure and general cognitive ability impact performance in operational dynamic control tasks," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 276(3), pages 1044-1055.
    8. Gerardo Sabater-Grande & Noemí Herranz-Zarzoso & Aurora García-Gallego, 2024. "The role of monetary incentives and feedback on how well students calibrate their academic performance," Working Papers 2024/01, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experiment; Trust; Incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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