02 - Social Norms (Krupka, 2013)

Question 1

Motivation

Answer 1

Social norms are frequently invoked as explanation for various types of behavior.

Problem: Norms are not observable.

Question 2

Experimental Design

Answer 2

• “For each possible alloaction in a standard dictator game, please state whether the allocation is “socially appropriate”, “consistent with moral or proper behavior”, “socially inappropriate” or “inconsistent with moral or proper behavior”.
• “Do not tell us what you think, but rather what the modal response in this experiment is, where every participant faces the same situation as you. If you hit the modal response, you will get $10, nothing otherwise”.
• Effectively, asks subjects to form beliefs about behavior of others, which in turn depends on their beliefs about behavior of everyone else etc.
• Procedure theoretically elicity the equilibrium of this coordination game

Question 3

Treatments

Answer 3

• Standard dictator games: dictator endowed with $10, receiver with $0
• Dictator game, dictator endowed with $5; dictator can give as much as he wants, or take $1
• Dictator game, dictator endowed with $10, receiver with $0; before dictator game starts, and before receiver finds out that dictator game is being played at all, dictator can take $10 and disappear