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Lab-Sophistication: Does Repeated Participation in Laboratory Experiments Affect Pro-Social Behaviour?

Author

Listed:
  • Tiziana Medda

    (ESOMAS Department, University of Turin, Corso Uniove Sovietica 218, 10134 Turin, Italy)

  • Vittorio Pelligra

    (Department of Economics and Business, University of Cagliari, V. le S. Ignazio, 17, 09123 Cagliari, Italy)

  • Tommaso Reggiani

    (Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, UK
    MUEEL Lab, Masaryk University, Lipová 507/41a, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic
    IZA—Institute of Labor Economics, Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 5-9, 53113 Bonn, Germany)

Abstract

Experimental social scientists working at research-intensive institutions deal inevitably with subjects who have most likely participated in previous experiments. It is an important methodological question to know whether participants that have acquired a high level of lab-sophistication show altered pro-social behavioural patterns. In this paper, we focus both on the potential effect of the subjects’ lab-sophistication, and on the role of the knowledge about the level of lab-sophistication of the other participants. Our main findings show that while lab-sophistication per se does not significantly affect pro-social behaviour, for sophisticated subjects the knowledge about the counterpart’s level of (un)sophistication may systematically alter their choices. This result should induce caution among experimenters about whether, in their settings, information about lab-sophistication can be inferred by the participants, due to the characteristics of the recruitment mechanisms, the management of the experimental sessions or to other contextual clues.

Suggested Citation

  • Tiziana Medda & Vittorio Pelligra & Tommaso Reggiani, 2021. "Lab-Sophistication: Does Repeated Participation in Laboratory Experiments Affect Pro-Social Behaviour?," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jgames:v:12:y:2021:i:1:p:18-:d:503935
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    2. Riccardo Ghidoni, 2021. "Introduction to the Special Issue “Pro-Sociality and Cooperation”," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-2, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    lab-sophistication; experimental methodology; external validity; pro-social behaviour; cooperation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments

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