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on Cognitive and Behavioural Economics |
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Issue of 2017‒06‒04
six papers chosen by Marco Novarese Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale |
| By: | Benndorf, Volker; Moellers, Claudia; Normann, Hans-Theo |
| Abstract: | We analyze whether subjects with extensive laboratory experience and first-time participants, who voluntarily registered for the experiment, differ in their behavior. Subjects play four one-shot, two-player games: a trust game, a beauty contest, an ultimatum game, a travelers' dilemma and, in addition, we conduct a singleplayer lying task and elicit risk preferences. We find few significant differences. In the trust game, experienced subjects are less trustworthy and they also trust less. Furthermore, experienced subjects submit fewer non-monotonic strategies in the risk elicitation task. We find no differences whatsoever in the other decisions. Nevertheless, the minor differences observed between experienced and inexperienced subjects may be relevant because we document a potential recruitment bias: the share of inexperienced subjects may be lower in the early recruitment waves. |
| Keywords: | dilemma,experienced subjects,laboratory methods,trust game |
| JEL: | C90 C70 C72 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:251&r=cbe |
| By: | L. Frigau; T. Medda; V. Pelligra |
| Abstract: | We replicate in the lab an artefactual field experiment originally run with a representative sample of the population. Our results show that, despite the many differences between university students and representative subjects from the whole population, the two samples closely follow a common behavioral pattern in a set of binary dictator games. The only exception seems to be represented by a significant difference in those situations where self-interest plays a prominent role. This gap is mainly related to the academic background of the participants - our sample of undergraduate economics students, in fact, differs in its degree of self-interested choices both from the representative group of the population and from its sub-sample of students from heterogeneous disciplines. |
| Keywords: | Prosocial Behavior;Methodology;External Validity;Experiments |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:201704&r=cbe |
| By: | Wilson, Nicholas; Pugatch, Todd |
| Abstract: | More than two of every five students who enrolled in college in 2007 failed to graduate by 2013. Peer tutoring services offer one approach toward improving learning outcomes in higher education. We conducted a randomized controlled experiment designed to increase take-up of university tutoring services. Brief, one-time messages increased tutoring take-up by 7 percentage points, or 23% of the control group mean. Attendance at multiple tutoring sessions increased by nearly the same amount, suggesting substantial changes in study habits in response to a simple and inexpensive intervention. We find little evidence of advertising-induced tutoring on learning outcomes. |
| Keywords: | peer tutoring,human capital investment,behavioral response to advertising,nudges,higher education |
| JEL: | D83 I23 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:73&r=cbe |
| By: | Marco Faillo; Costanza Piovanelli |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to investigate experimentally whether and to what extent subjects’ intrinsic motivation and performance change when they are allowed to self-set their own wage for performing a task; moreover, it investigates how differently motivated people react to the possibility of deter- mining their own wage. We propose a novel experimental design, in which the subjects are asked to perform a complex real-effort task under two different conditions: wages can be either chosen by the subjects themselves, or randomly determined. With this setting, we are able to disentangle intrinsic motivation from the reciprocity concerns that are likely to characterize the standard principal-agent interaction. Our main result is that subjects increase their performance more when they are delegated the wage choice than when they receive a random payment; moreover, subjects who are both highly motivated and delegated their wage choice are those who perform better. Finally, subjects with higher motivation ask for lower wages. |
| Keywords: | Compensation, Incentives, Delegation, Motivation, Experiment |
| JEL: | C91 J33 M52 M54 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trn:utwpce:1701&r=cbe |
| By: | Nelson, Katherine M.; Schlüter, Achim; Vance, Colin |
| Abstract: | This study examines the effect of participants' distributional preferences on donations of money and time using a field experiment with marine resource users in Indonesia. Individuals participate in a real effort task to earn money and are faced with a donation decision under different treatments - monetary donation, time donation, monetary match, and time match. In the distributional preferences elicitation we classify individuals' preferences as benevolent, egalitarian, own-money-maximizing, and spiteful. We find that the different distributional preference types are a significant indicator of participants' donation behavior. The people showing spiteful preferences and those that focus only on maximizing their own payoff are less likely to donate any amount compared to those that make egalitarian choices. Furthermore, we find strong evidence that individuals that choose payoff structures characterized as "benevolent" donate a significantly higher amount compared to the egalitarian types. We analyze the results econometrically in two-stages to better understand the determining factors for whether an individual donates and those factors that determine how much one donates. Practical implications involve the segmentation of the target audience, not by the type of charity but by the mechanism which motivates their donation behavior. |
| Keywords: | distributional preferences,donations,field experiment |
| JEL: | Q22 Z1 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:690&r=cbe |
| By: | Zaneta Simanaviciene (Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuanian Sports University); Virgilijus Dirma (Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuanian Sports University); Arturas Simanavicius (Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuanian Sports University) |
| Abstract: | Research background: Most of the studies and their authors focus on the social and economic impacts of energy-saving behavior. But they do not focus on psychological factors affecting the efficiency of energy consumption in households. Lithuania has a lack of a unified and justified opinion on psychological factors that affect the energy efficiency of households. Purpose of the article: to identify the psychological factors that influence energy efficiency in households and to identify the appropriate measures changing the individual’s energy consumption behavior. Methodology/methods: was based on analysis of scientific literature and expert evaluation, when the exerts selected the most influencing psychological factors. Expert valuation also allowed to set the right conditions in which individuals are more easily assimilated by means of energy saving. The correlation and regression analysis allowed to identify a variety of factors, including the psychological impact strength. Findings: Performed analysis of variety of factors that influence household energy consumption allowed to formulate conclusions that in most cases, economic and technological factors significantly influence household energy consumption, increased energy-efficient equipment production and supply is causing an energy consumption growth in households because they are more inclined to buy and use more efficient electrical equipment, which leads to the growth of energy consumption in households. An investigation showed that the energy consumption of households is strongly influenced by some cultural and psychological factors: the greater public openness to innovation, the households tend to use energy more efficiently. Also, a significant impact on energy consumption has some psychological indicators - frequently the more pronounced neuroticism or extraversion rate. Since the research was performed only in Lithuania, in the future it will seek to carry out an investigation in several countries and to compare a various factor on the proposed measures and the efficiency of household energy consumption. |
| Keywords: | psychological factors; efficient use of electricity; households |
| JEL: | D1 C92 Q43 Q56 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2017:no112&r=cbe |