Truth and trust in communication - Experiments on the effect of a competitive context

The paper employs laboratory experimentation to study the effect of competition on truth telling and trust in communication. A sequence of either competitive or cooperative interactions preceded an experimental communication game. In the game, informed advisors sent a recommendation to decision-makers who faced uncertainty about the consequences of their choice. While many advisors told the truth against their monetary self-interest, the propensity to tell the truth was unaffected by the contextual priming. In contrast, decision-makers trusted significantly less in a competitive context. The effect was strongest when they faced full uncertainty. The paper relates this result to psychological and neuro-economic findings on automatic information processing. The data of this study were largely in line with Subjective Equilibrium Analysis (Kalai and Lehrer, 1995).

Truth and Trust in Communication: An Experimental Study of Behavior under Asymmetric Information

The paper presents an experimental study of truth telling and trust in communication under asymmetric information. In a two-player Communication Game (cf., Gneezy, 2005), an informed “advisor” sends a message to an uninformed “decision maker”, who then has to decide whether to follow the advice. The advisor may gain more by lying in the message. In two treatments, either a cooperative or a competitive context is induced before participants play the Communication Game. Advisors are unaffected by this contextual variation. In contrast, decision makers in the competitive context trust the advice less than in the cooperative context. The data provide evidence that this change in trust is due to different perceptions of the incentive structure. Individual differences in behavior can be related to certain personal characteristics (field of studies, gender, personality test scores). The data are largely in line with Subjective Equilibrium Analysis (Kalai & Lehrer, 1995).experimental economics; truth telling; trust; asymmetric information; individual differences; context effects; subjective beliefs

The role of power for distributive fairness

We employ an experimental labour setting to study fairness in the division of gains from productive activity. The focus is on the impact of power structures on allocation decisions and on fairness perceptions. Two types of actors are involved in generating a gain, but only one contributes actively by completing a real-effort task. In three treatments, decision power to divide the gain is assigned (1) to the inactive, (2) jointly to the inactive and the active, and (3) to the active. Results show that the impact of power goes beyond changing final allocations: it also significantly alters fairness perceptions. Decision power - in particular absolute power – mediates and significantly enhances self-serving biases. Results complement studies on the psychology of fairness perceptions. Moreover, the paper discusses implications for organizational design.

Truth and trust in communication : experiments on the effect of a competitive context

The paper employs laboratory experimentation to study the effect of competition on truth telling and trust in communication. A sequence of either competitive or cooperative interactions preceded an experimental communication game. In the game, informed advisors sent a recommendation to decision-makers who faced uncertainty about the consequences of their choice. While many advisors told the truth against their monetary self-interest, the propensity to tell the truth was unaffected by the contextual priming. In contrast, decision-makers trusted significantly less in a competitive context. The effect was strongest when they faced full uncertainty. The paper relates this result to psychological and neuro-economic findings on automatic information processing. The data of this study were largely in line with Subjective Equilibrium Analysis (Kalai and Lehrer, 1995)

Ethical differentiation and market behavior: An experimental approach

Does ethical differentiation of products affect market behavior? We examined this issue in triopolistic experimental markets where producers set prices. One producer’s costs were higher than the others. In two treatments, the additional costs were attributed to compliance with ethical guidelines. In the third, no justification was provided. Many participants playing the role of consumers reduced their experimental gains by purchasing the ethically differentiated product at a higher price – whether or not they knew the amount of extra cost. Individual differences were important (students of business/economics paid smaller premia than others). Finally, we speculate about the observed “demand function” for ethics and emphasize the use of experimental methodology to complement empirical studies designed to assess the potential market for ethically differentiated products.Fair trade, ethical premia, price competition, contextual effects, Leex

Rules or consequences? The role of ethical mindsets in moral dynamics

Recent research on the dynamics of moral behavior has documented two contrasting phenomena - moral consistency and moral balancing. Moral balancing refers to the phenomenon whereby behaving (un)ethically decreases the likelihood of doing so again at a later time. Moral consistency describes the opposite pattern - engaging in (un)ethical behavior increases the likelihood of doing so later on. Three studies support the hypothesis that individuals' ethical mindset (i.e., outcome-based versus rule-based) moderates the impact of an initial (un)ethical act on the likelihood of behaving ethically in a subsequent occasion. More specifically, an outcome-based mindset facilitates moral balancing and a rule-based mindset facilitates moral consistency.moral balancing, moral consistency, ethical mindsets, ethical behavior

The role of power for distributive fairness

We employ an experimental labour setting to study fairness in the division of gains from productive activity. The focus is on the impact of power structures on allocation decisions and on fairness perceptions. Two types of actors are involved in generating a gain, but only one contributes actively by completing a real-effort task. In three treatments, decision power to divide the gain is assigned (1) to the inactive, (2) jointly to the inactive and the active, and (3) to the active. Results show that the impact of power goes beyond changing final allocations: it also significantly alters fairness perceptions. Decision power - in particular absolute power – mediates and significantly enhances self-serving biases. Results complement studies on the psychology of fairness perceptions. Moreover, the paper discusses implications for organizational design

Can monetary valuation undermine nature conservation? Evidence from a decision experiment

Nature conservation scientists and practitioners have voiced the concern that a conservation discourse based on economic arguments and monetary valuation may undermine conservation efforts by eroding (“crowding out”) the influence of other arguments for nature conservation. This paper presents the results of a decision experiment in which nature conservation is framed using an economic, a non-economic, or a combined discourse before participants take hypothetical decisions on the construction of hydropower dams in the Bolivian Amazon. We find that an economic discourse with monetary valuation framing leads to significantly fewer pro-conservation decisions, that is, decisions against dam construction. This is the case when a cost-benefit analysis inclusive of environmental costs reveals that the dam is economically viable (i.e., there remains a trade-off between economics and conservation), but also when such a costs-benefit analysis indicates that the dam is not viable (i.e., no trade-off). The results suggest that an economic discourse with monetary valuation framing can indeed undermine nature conservation efforts. They also suggest that the effect can be avoided, however, by presenting non-economic arguments side by side with an economic rationale

Economic incentives for biodiversity conservation: what is the evidence for motivation crowding?

As economic incentives for biodiversity and ecosystem service protection (e.g., payments for ecosystem services) have become widespread in environmental science and policy, a major concern among conservationists and environmental scientists is that economic incentives may undermine people’s intrinsic motivations to conserve biodiversity. In this paper we review the theoretical insights and empirical findings on motivation crowding effects with economic instruments for biodiversity protection. First, we synthesize the psychological mechanisms behind motivation crowding effects relevant for environmental behavior as identified in the specialized literature. We then conduct a systematic review of the empirical evidence. Our results show that, although several empirical studies suggest the existence of crowding-out and crowding-in effects, evidence remains inconclusive due to i) methodological limitations for empirical studies to demonstrate crowding effects, ii) lack of adequate baseline information about pre-existing intrinsic motivations, iii) weak comparability of results across case studies resulting from inconsistent terminology and methods, and iv) the complexity stemming from cultural and contextual heterogeneity. We conclude that, as economic instruments for conservation are increasingly implemented, it becomes paramount to develop robust methodologies for assessing pre-existing intrinsic motivations and changes in people’s motivational structures. To address possible detrimental long term effects for conservation outcomes we call for caution in situations where high uncertainties remain

Chimera States on a Ring of Strongly Coupled Relaxation Oscillators

Weakly coupled oscillators can exhibit seemingly incongruous synchronization patterns comprised of coherent and incoherent spatial domains known as chimera states. However, the weak coupling approximation is invalid when the characteristic phase response curve of an oscillator does not scale linearly with the coupling strength and instead changes its shape. In chemical experiments with photo-coupled relaxation oscillators, we find that beyond weak coupling chimera patterns consist of different coexisting cluster states. Numerical modeling reveals that the observed cluster states result from a phase-dependent excitability that is also commonly observed in neural tissue and cardiac pacemaker cells.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität BerlinDFG, GRK 1558, Kollektive Dynamik im Nichtgleichgewicht: in kondensierter Materie und biologischen SystemenDFG, SFB 910, Kontrolle selbstorganisierender nichtlinearer Systeme: Theoretische Methoden und Anwendungskonzept