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Giving according to preferences: Decision-making in the group dictator game

Author

Listed:
  • Axel Franzen
  • Sonja Pointner

Abstract

We study the decision process in a group dictator game in which three subjects can distribute an initial endowment between themselves and a group of recipients. The experiment consists of two stages; first, individuals play a standard dictator game. Second, individuals are randomly matched into groups of three and communicate via instant messaging regarding the decision in the group dictator game. In contrast to former studies our results show that group decisions do not differ from individual decisions in the dictator game. Furthermore, the analysis of the chat history reveals that players make proposals according to their preferences as revealed in the single dictator game and that these proposals in groups drive the final allocation. This paper has been published 2014 in Soziale Welt 65(1): 139-156 (see http://www.soziale-welt.nomos.de/archiv/2014/heft-2/).

Suggested Citation

  • Axel Franzen & Sonja Pointner, 2013. "Giving according to preferences: Decision-making in the group dictator game," University of Bern Social Sciences Working Papers 2, University of Bern, Department of Social Sciences, revised 24 Jan 2014.
    • Handle: RePEc:bss:wpaper:2
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    File URL: https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/0038-6073-2014-2-139/giving-according-to-preferences-jahrgang-65-2014-heft-2?page=0
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    File URL: https://repec.sowi.unibe.ch/files/wp2/GDG_franzen_pointner.pdf
    File Function: Working paper, revised version, 2014
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Dörrenberg & Christoph Feldhaus, 2022. "How Does Group-Decision Making Affect Subsequent Individual Behavior?," CESifo Working Paper Series 9513, CESifo.
    2. Schwaninger, Manuel, 2022. "Sharing with the powerless third: Other-regarding preferences in dynamic bargaining," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 341-355.
    3. Festré, Agnès & Garrouste, Pierre, 2014. "Somebody may scold you! A dictator experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 141-153.
    4. Takehiro Ito & Kazuhito Ogawa & Akihiro Suzuki & Hiromasa Takahashi & Toru Takemoto, 2016. "Contagion of Self-Interested Behavior: Evidence from Group Dictator Game Experiments," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 17(4), pages 425-437, November.
    5. He, Haoran & Villeval, Marie Claire, 2017. "Are group members less inequality averse than individual decision makers?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 111-124.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    dictator game; group dictator game; team dictator game; fairness games; small group research;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B3 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals
    • C79 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Other
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making

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