They Come To Play

Supply Effects in an Economic Experiment

Bibliographic Data

ID5722233
AuthorsJeffrey P Carpenter (0000-0003-0969-5876, Middlebury College, corresponding author), Jeffrey Carpenter (0000-0001-6966-7987, Middlebury College), Allison Liati (Middlebury College, corresponding author), Brian Vickery (Middlebury College), Brian P Vickery (0000-0002-7243-5543, Middlebury College, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume22
Issue1
Pages83-102
Publication date2010-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRationality and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1043-4631 • E-ISSN: 1461-7358
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1043463109358486
OpenAlexW2097086330
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited20

Our experiment challenges the standard, social preference, interpretation of choices in the double blind dictator game played in the lab without any context. We present treatments formulated to minimize the social preference reasons to give and, despite this, the allocations are identical to our replication of the standard double blind game, implying that altruism might be the wrong interpretation of giving. Instead, we hypothesize that giving might be driven by participants coming to the lab ready 'to play'. The fact that there are strong correlations between participant responses to an attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder questionnaire and both the rate and level of giving provides direct support for the hypothesis that lab participants impulsively give money away. However, we also show that having players earn their endowments attenuates the bias

Dictator · Dictator game · Economics · Microeconomics · Political science · Preference · Social preferences · Statistics · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Mathematics · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology

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