Doppelte Kontingenz

Es wird die Frage diskutiert, inwiefern spieltheoretische Betrachtungen zum Problem der doppelten Kontingenz über die soziologische Idee, Akteure lösen diese Probleme vermöge gemeinsamer kultureller Orientierungen, hinausgehen. Zu diesem Zweck wird die epistemische Spieltheorie herangezogen, die die Vorbedingungen spieltheoretischer Lösungskonzepte untersucht. Es zeigt sich, dass die Bedingungen dafür, dass die Handlungen der Akteure in einer sozialen Situation ein Gleichgewicht konstituieren, sehr streng sind. Insbesondere muss dafür ein hohes Maß an sozial geteiltem Wissen vorausgesetzt werden, eine Bedingung, die der von Parsons beschriebenen Lösung des Problems der doppelten Kontingenz sehr nahe kommt. Diese Beobachtung wirft auch ein neues Licht auf die individualistische Lösung des Problems sozialer Ordnung

A Note on Disbelief in Others regarding Backward Induction

We present experimental results on the role of beliefs in the cognitive ability of others in a problem involving backward induction. Using a modified version of the so-called race game, our design allows the effects of a player’s own inability to perform backward induction to be separated from the effects of her disbelief in the ability of others to do so. We find that behavior is responsive to the dependence on others who might fail in backward induction as well as information regarding their backward induction skills

Status Characteristics and the Provision of Public Goods: Experimental Evidence

We present experimental evidence on the effects of status characteristics in problems involving the provision of public goods. According to Status Characteristics Theory (SCT), status differentials affect performance expectations, which in turn affect the power and prestige order in group tasks. Applied to problems of collective action, SCT suggests several intriguing hypotheses (cf. Simpson, Willer, and Ridgeway 2012). Most importantly, the theory proposes that high-status actors show a greater initiative in and also overall contribute more to the provision of public goods than low-status actors. We put this theoretical claim to a strict experimental test, in addition to other hypotheses and conjectures. In our experimental setup, the volunteer’s timing dilemma is used as the group task. Three experimental conditions are implemented, which differ with respect to the way status groups are formed on basis of the type of status characteristic. Our results validate the central hypothesis cited above and also lend support to a conjecture regarding the beneficial effects of heterogeneity in status

Opposing effects of objective and subjective social status on prosociality : theory and quasi-experiment

Previous research in sociology, social psychology and economics on the question if and to what extent social status groups differ in prosocial behavior provides only inconclusive and contradictory evidence. While some studies find a negative relationship between social status and prosociality, others find a positive one. We propose a formal model and predict that (1) objective social status is positively correlated with prosociality and (2) subjective social status is negatively correlated with prosociality, given statistical control of objective status. These hypotheses are put to an empirical test using data from a quasi-experiment with over 600 ninth-graders from Germany. The data include measures of objective and subjective social status. Our findings support both hypotheses and provide direct evidence for a self-enhancing bias in subjective social status. We therefore contribute to explaining the inconclusive findings of subsequent research on the status-prosociality nexus

Does economic inequality moderate the effect of class on prosocial behavior? A large-scale test of a recent hypothesis by Côté et al.

Empirical research has provided mixed evidence regarding the question of whether higher social class promotes prosocial behavior. Recently, Côté et al. [1] hypothesized that these conflicting evidences might result from a hitherto neglected interaction between the individual's level of income and the degree of inequality in one's society. They argue that societies with a higher level of inequality foster a sense of entitlement in high-income individuals, which in turn leads them to be less generous. We put this reasoning to a large-scale test using observational data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and push the scope of our investigation towards a broader conception of social class, using next to income two additional measures of class. First, we examine whether high-class individuals in societies with high levels of inequality do in fact feel more entitled than their counterparts in more equal societies. While we find that an individual's class and the disposition towards entitlement are strongly correlated, our results show a negative interaction with inequality, i.e. the effect of class on the personal sense of entitlement is weaker in societies with high levels of inequality. Second, we test whether the effect of class on prosocial behavior is moderated by economic inequality with respect to two real-life acts of prosocial behavior, namely engaging in volunteer work and donating money to a humanitarian organization. Our results indicate a substantial positive effect of class on prosocial behavior throughout, as well as a moderate, yet positive, interaction effect of class and inequality

Objective Status, Subjective Status and Prosociality of Swiss Apprentices

In previous research, both positive and negative relationships between social status and prosociality have been reported. We argue that the nature of the observed status can explain these divergent findings. In an experimental study with technical and commercial apprentices, we show that objective status can have a positive effect on prosocial behaviour and that subjective status can have a negative effect when controlling for objective status

Sozialer Status und prosoziales Handeln : ein Quasi-Experiment im Krankenhaus

Soziologische, sozialpsychologische und ökonomische Forschung zum Zusammenhang von sozioökonomischem Status und Prosozialität hat bisher widersprüchliche Befunde geliefert. Einige Studien belegen, dass Akteure mit hohem sozialen Status egoistischer als Akteure mit geringem sozialem Status handeln. Andere Studien finden gerade den gegenteiligen Effekt. Im Unterschied zur bisherigen Forschung, die mit eindimensionalen Maßen für sozioökonomischen Status gearbeitet hat, untersucht die vorliegende Studie prosoziales Handeln von Berufsgruppen, die in regelmäßigem lebensweltlichen Kontakt miteinander stehen. Über 150 Angestellte in Krankenhäusern (Ärzte, Pflegepersonal und Pflegeschüler) haben an Experimenten zum altruistischen Geben in Diktatorspielen teilgenommen. Es zeigen sich klare und überraschend starke Effekte: Sozial besser gestellte Akteure zeigen sich deutlich prosozialer als sozial schlechter gestellte Akteure. Zudem finden wir kaum Eigengruppeneffekte, die in der Forschung immer wieder postuliert werden. Unsere Ergebnisse stützen die Annahme eines positiven Zusammenhangs zwischen sozialem Status und Prosozialität und deuten darauf hin, dass die bisherigen, teilweise widersprüchlichen Forschungsbefunde zu einem beträchtlichen Teil durch problematische Maße für sozialen Status und das experimentelle Design bedingt sind

Experimental Evidence on Iterated Reasoning in Games

<div><p>We present experimental evidence on two forms of iterated reasoning in games, i.e. backward induction and interactive knowledge. Besides reliable estimates of the cognitive skills of the subjects, our design allows us to disentangle two possible explanations for the observed limits in performed iterated reasoning: Restrictions in subjects’ cognitive abilities and their beliefs concerning the rationality of co-players. In comparison to previous literature, our estimates regarding subjects’ skills in iterated reasoning are quite pessimistic. Also, we find that beliefs concerning the rationality of co-players are completely irrelevant in explaining the observed limited amount of iterated reasoning in the dirty faces game. In addition, it is demonstrated that skills in backward induction are a solid predictor for skills in iterated knowledge, which points to some generalized ability of the subjects in iterated reasoning.</p></div

Subjects’ performance in the hit games.

<p>Subjects’ performance in the hit games.</p