Impact of responsibility for a misfortune on schadenfreude and sympathy: Further evidence

The authors tested the hypothesis that the more individuals are responsible for their own misfortune, the more schadenfreude (i.e., pleasure derived from another's misfortune) and less sympathy the misfortune evokes in others. The results support the hypothesis, thereby providing further evidence for the role responsibility plays in emotional reactions to the misfortunes of others. © 2008 Heldref Publications

How choice architecture can promote and undermine tax compliance: testing the effects of prepopulated tax returns and accuracy confirmation

We tested the effects of prepopulated returns and accuracy confirmation on compliance. Participants were askedto report correct liabilities for different types of returns, whereby some had to confirm the accuracy of eachreported liability and others not. Results showed that correctly prefilled returns yielded the highest rate ofcompliance, followed by returns that were not prefilled, followed by returns that overestimated liabilities, andwith returns that underestimated liabilities displaying the lowest compliance. Moreover, accuracy confirmationincreased compliance only for returns that overestimated liabilities. The present study indicates that bothmorality and defaults play a pivotal role in shaping the effects of prepopulated returns on compliance. Ourfindings imply that prepopulating tax returns should be done with care, because it can increase tax compliancewhen done correctly, but undermine it when done incorrectly.Social decision makin

Deservingness and Schadenfreude

The present study tested the hypothesis that Schadenfreude, pleasure at another's misfortune, results when a misfortune is perceived as deserved. Participants responded to interviews in which information was provided about a student who suffered a misfortune. The male or female student had either high or average achievements and was either responsible or not responsible for the misfortune. Results showed that responsibility for the misfortune increased Schadenfreude and this effect was mediated by the perceived deservingness of the misfortune. © 2005 Psychology Press Ltd

Cooperative compliance programmes: who participates and why?

This study examines which organisations participate in cooperative compliance programmes(CCPs) and why by comparing large organisations in the Netherlands that do and do notparticipate in them. We use data from surveys conducted among representatives of largeorganisations and their Netherlands Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA) accountmanagers between 2014 and 2018 (n=394). The results show that there are few differences inorganisational characteristics between CCP participants and non-participants, but that largerorganisations are more likely to participate in CCPs. Furthermore, CCP participants have betterworking relationships with the NTCA, better Tax Control Frameworks (TCFs), and displaygreater transparency than non-participants. In addition, CCP participants report having agreater need for certainty and higher perceived certainty about their tax positions than nonparticipants.Within the group of CCP participants, we also assess whether there are differencesrelated to the intensity of contact with the NTCA and the duration of participation. We findthat the working relationship and the level of transparency are somewhat better, and thatcompliance costs for the organisation are reduced, when there is more frequent contact betweena large organisation and the NTCA. At the same time, we find a negative relationship betweenthe duration of CCP participation and the quality of the TCF. We conclude that largeorganisations may benefit from CCP participation in terms of gaining more certainty abouttheir tax position, whereas the tax authority may benefit because the organisation displaysgreater transparency. Both parties may benefit from the development of a better workingrelationship, but it appears that both parties need to continuously invest time and effort into theprogramme in order to actively maintain the cooperative relationship.Social decision makin

Impact of deservingness on schadenfreude and sympathy: Further evidence

The authors tested the hypothesis that people experience less schadenfreude and more sympathy toward high achievers with deserved achievements who suffer misfortunes as opposed to those with undeserved achievements. The results support the hypothesis and show that this effect is mediated by the perceived deservingness of the misfortune