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`Two's Company, Three's a Group' The impact of group identity and group size on in-group favouritism

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  • Donna Harris

    (Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge)

  • Benedikt Herrmann

    (CeDEx, School of Economics, University of Nottingham)

  • Andreas Kontoleon

    (Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge)

Abstract

In this study, we use an allocation experiment to study the effects of group identity and group size on in-group favouritism when the person's own payoff is not affected by her decision. In a triadic setting when subjects are asked to allocate a fixed amount of resource between two other anonymous individuals, the majority of the subjects choose to allocate equal amounts to both the in-group and the out-group members. Telling the subjects that they belong to the same `group' does not increase the amount al- located to the in-group member relative to the out-group member in a triadic setting. However, once the sizes of the in-group and the out-group are increased from one recipient to three (which we refer to as `the favour game'), we observe a sharp increase in in-group favouritism. Our results suggest that no special treatment is needed in a one-shot experiment to induce the distinction between the in-group and the out-group when groups consist of more than two group members.

Suggested Citation

  • Donna Harris & Benedikt Herrmann & Andreas Kontoleon, 2009. "`Two's Company, Three's a Group' The impact of group identity and group size on in-group favouritism," Discussion Papers 2009-13, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notcdx:2009-13
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    Cited by:

    1. Donna Harris & Benedikt Herrmann & Andreas Kontoleon & Jonathan Newton, 2015. "Is it a norm to favour your own group?," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 18(3), pages 491-521, September.
    2. Tor Eriksson & Lei Mao & Marie Claire Villeval, 2017. "Saving face and group identity," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 20(3), pages 622-647, September.
    3. Oliver Kirchkamp & Ulrike Vollstädt, 2012. "Bargaining with Two-Person-Groups - On the Insignificance of the Patient Partner," Jena Economics Research Papers 2012-043, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    4. Kirchkamp, Oliver & Vollstädt, Ulrike, 2014. "Bilateral bargaining of heterogeneous groups—How significant are patient partners?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 433-441.
    5. 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

    Favouritism; Group Identity; Group Behaviour; Group Size; Design of Laboratory Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior

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