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Fighting alone versus fighting for a team: An experiment on multiple pairwise contests

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  • Huang, Lingbo
  • Murad, Zahra

Abstract

People who compete alone may entertain different psychological motivations from those who compete for a team. We examine how psychological motivations influence individual competitive behavior in response to a head start or a handicap when competing alone or competing for a team. We find that contestants’ behavior in both individual and team contests exhibits a psychological momentum effect, whereby leaders fight harder than trailers. However, the momentum effect is significantly larger in individual contests than in team contests and further disappears in team contests that are enriched with pre-play communication. The standard economic model, which predicts neither momentum effects nor treatment differences, fails to explain our findings. The findings can be better explained by a combination of two behavioral models: disappointment aversion and team spirit.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Lingbo & Murad, Zahra, 2021. "Fighting alone versus fighting for a team: An experiment on multiple pairwise contests," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 616-631.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:183:y:2021:i:c:p:616-631
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2021.01.020
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Individual versus team behavior; Multiple pairwise contest; Head start; Psychological momentum effect; Disappointment aversion; Team spirit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D79 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Other

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