Individual Behavior and Group Membership
Gary Charness, Luca Rigotti and Aldo Rustichini
|
| Article Citation |
Charness, Gary, Luca Rigotti, and Aldo Rustichini. 2007. "Individual Behavior and Group Membership." American Economic Review, 97(4): 1340–1352.
DOI:10.1257/aer.97.4.1340
|
| Abstract |
People who are members of a group and identify with it behave differently from people
who perceive themselves as isolated individuals. This paper shows that group
membership affects preferences over outcomes, and saliency of the group affects the
perception of the environment. We manipulate the saliency of group membership
by letting a player's own group watch as a passive audience as decisions are made,
and/or by making part of the payoff common for members of the group. In contrast
to the minimal-group paradigm, minimal groups alone do not affect behavior in our
strategic environments. However, salient group membership significantly increases
the aggressive stance of the hosts (people who have their group members in the
audience), and tends to reduce that of the guests. (JEL D71, Z13)
|
| Article Full-Text Access |
|
| Additional Materials |
Download Data Set
| Link to Appendix
|
| Authors |
Charness, Gary
Rigotti, Luca
Rustichini, Aldo
|
|
|
|
