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Altruistic or expected leadership? Laboratory evidence on what motivates pro-social influence

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  • Fernández-Duque, Mauricio
  • Hiscox, Michael J.

Abstract

We provide experimental evidence to assess whether pro-social leading is motivated by altruism or by a desire to conform with expectations. A sizable minority of individuals act more pro-socially when they can influence others. Whether or not an individual acts more pro-socially when she can influence others, she wants her actions made public only if it will increase others’ pro-sociality, which turns out to be a telltale sign of altruism. Despite some evidence that pro-social leading is partly driven by conformity, altruism wins the day.

Suggested Citation

  • Fernández-Duque, Mauricio & Hiscox, Michael J., 2023. "Altruistic or expected leadership? Laboratory evidence on what motivates pro-social influence," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:94:y:2023:i:c:s0167487022000800
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2022.102569
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    Cited by:

    1. Cavalcanti, Carina & Grossman, Philip J. & Khalil, Elias L., 2023. "Leadership heuristic," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Leadership; Reluctance; Social expectations; Altruism; Lab experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C7 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory
    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

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