Do I really want to know? A cognitive dissonance-based explanation of other-regarding behavior

DOI10.3390/G2010114MaRDI QIDQ2344967zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Astrid Matthey, Tobias Regner

Publication date 19 May 2015

Published in Games (Search for Journal in Brave)

Copyright license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.3390/g2010114

zbMATH Keywords

cognitive dissonanceexperimentsother-regarding behaviorsocial preferences

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Experimental studies (91A90) Group preferences (91B10)

Review text

Summary: We investigate to what extent genuine social preferences can explain observed other-regarding behavior. In a dictator game variant subjects can choose whether to learn about the consequences of their choice for the receiver. We find that a majority of subjects showing other-regarding behavior when the payoffs of the receiver are known, choose to ignore these consequences if possible. This behavior is inconsistent with preferences about outcomes. Other-regarding behavior may also be explained by avoiding cognitive dissonance as in [\textit{J. Konow}, ``Fair shares: accountability and cognitive dissonance in allocation decisions, Am. Econ. Rev. 90, No. 4, 1072--1091 (2000; \url{doi:10.1257/aer.90.4.1072})]. Our experiment's choice data is in line with this approach. In addition, we successfully relate individual behavior to proxies for cognitive dissonance.

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Cites work

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• Is generosity involuntary?
• Social image and the 50-50 norm: a theoretical and experimental analysis of audience effects
• When punishment fails: Research on sanctions, intentions and non-cooperation

Cited in

(6)

• Close your eyes and be nice: deliberate ignorance behind pro-social choices
• The intuition of punishment: a study of fairness preferences and cognitive ability
• Objective and subjective compliance: a norm-based explanation of `moral wiggle room'
• The asymmetric effect of narratives on prosocial behavior
• Honestly, why are you donating money to charity? An experimental study about self-awareness in status-seeking behavior
• A model of information flows and confirmatory bias in financial markets

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