I Can Feel You - How Experience Shapes Third- Party Punishment

ČELLÁROVÁ, Katarína. I Can Feel You - How Experience Shapes Third- Party Punishment. In International Online Conference RExCon21 on 'Social Preferences and Social Norms'. 2021.

Basic information

• Original name: I Can Feel You - How Experience Shapes Third- Party Punishment
• Authors: ČELLÁROVÁ, Katarína.
• Edition: International Online Conference RExCon21 on 'Social Preferences and Social Norms' 2021.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 50202 Applied Economics, Econometrics
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: Program konference
• Organization unit: Faculty of Economics and Administration
• Keywords in English: economic experiment; third party punishment; social norms; emotions

Abstract

In this paper, we experimentally investigate the effect of a previous experience on third-party punishment decisions. Third-party punishment serves as an enforcement mechanism of social norms and depends on emotions. Therefore, it is important to understand how these social norm perceptions and emotions arise. We posit that a previous experience plays a crucial role herein. We design an online experiment, in which we measure the difference in the willingness to punish a dictator in a dictator game. We compare the case in which subjects have no experience with the case in which they experience different transfers, either as observers or receivers in a previous dictator game. We find that receiving a low transfer changes both norm perceptions and emotions. Most dominantly is the change in empirical expectations especially after receiving or observing a transfer of 0. Empirical expectations are the main driver for punishment decisions, yet less for females, whose personal norms are more important. After observing a transfer of 0, norms are shifted downwards and punishment decisions are lower. Receiving a transfer of 0 arouses negative emotions, increases punishment decisions, and hence can cancel out the norm updating effect depending on the intensity of the change of norms and emotions. We, therefore, find evidence both for norm-based and emotion-based third-party punishment that is triggered after an experience.

Links

• MUNI/IGA/1364/2020, interní kód MU: Name: Distributional preferences and self-selection (Acronym: DISPRESELF)

Investor: Masaryk University