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Group payoffs as public signals

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  • Ioannou, Christos A.
  • Qi, Shi
  • Rustichini, Aldo

Abstract

We study experimentally the effect on individual behavior of comparative, but payoff-irrelevant, information in a near-minimal group setting. Specifically, in each round, group members see the groups’ cumulative payoffs, which consist of an aggregation of the earnings of each member of the group in the round. Our novel experimental design incorporates two games (the Trust game and the Dictator game) whose payoffs are carefully chosen to ensure cross-game comparability. In the baseline, no comparative information is displayed; the sessions are otherwise identical.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannou, Christos A. & Qi, Shi & Rustichini, Aldo, 2015. "Group payoffs as public signals," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 89-105.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:48:y:2015:i:c:p:89-105
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2015.03.003
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ciccarone, Giuseppe & Di Bartolomeo, Giovanni & Papa, Stefano, 2020. "The rationale of in-group favoritism: An experimental test of three explanations," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 554-568.
    3. De Geest, Lawrence R. & Kidwai, Abdul H. & Portillo, Javier E., 2022. "Ours, not yours: Property rights, poaching and deterrence in common-pool resources," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Grosskopf, Brit & Pearce, Graeme, 2017. "Discrimination in a deprived neighbourhood: An artefactual field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 29-42.
    5. Giuseppe Ciccarone & Giovanni Di Bartolomeo & Stefano Papa, 2018. "Is social identity belief independent?," Working Papers in Public Economics 183, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    6. Tom Lane, 2015. "Discrimination in the laboratory: a meta-analysis," Discussion Papers 2015-03, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trust game; Dictator game; Group identity; Public signals;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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