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A must lie situation – avoiding giving negative feedback

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  • Gneezy, Uri
  • Gravert, Christina
  • Saccardo, Silvia
  • Tausch, Franziska

Abstract

We examine under what conditions people provide accurate feedback to others. We use feedback regarding attractiveness, a trait people care about, and for which objective information is hard to obtain. Our results show that people avoid giving accurate face-to-face feedback to less attractive individuals, even if lying in this context comes at a monetary cost to both the person who gives the feedback and the receiver. A substantial increase of these costs does not increase the accuracy of feedback. However, when feedback is provided anonymously, the aversion to giving negative feedback is reduced.

Suggested Citation

  • Gneezy, Uri & Gravert, Christina & Saccardo, Silvia & Tausch, Franziska, 2017. "A must lie situation – avoiding giving negative feedback," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 445-454.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:gamebe:v:102:y:2017:i:c:p:445-454
    DOI: 10.1016/j.geb.2017.01.008
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sanjit Dhami, 2017. "Human Ethics and Virtues: Rethinking the Homo-Economicus Model," CESifo Working Paper Series 6836, CESifo.
    3. Brian D. Knox, 2020. "A strategy map’s effect on the feedback that middle managers pass along to upper management," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 381-404, February.
    4. Lohse, Tim & Qari, Salmai, 2021. "Gender differences in face-to-face deceptive behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 1-15.
    5. Barron, Kai & Gravert, Christina, 2018. "Beliefs and actions: How a shift in confidence affects choices," MPRA Paper 84743, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Alexander Coutts & Boon Han Koh & Zahra Murad, 2024. "The signals we give: Performance feedback, gender, and competition," Working Papers in Economics & Finance 2024-02, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth Business School, Economics and Finance Subject Group.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Lying; Feedback; Overconfidence; Updating; Laboratory experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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