eprintid: 27175
rev_number: 19
eprint_status: archive
userid: 3114
dir: disk0/00/02/71/75
datestamp: 2019-09-27 10:53:59
lastmod: 2019-12-03 09:54:49
status_changed: 2019-09-27 10:53:59
type: workingPaper
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Schmidt, Robert J.
title: Do injunctive or descriptive social norms elicited using coordination games better explain social preferences?
subjects: 330
divisions: 181000
keywords: injunctive social norms, descriptive social norms, social preferences, coordination
abstract: We experimentally study the relationship between social norms and social preferences on the individual level. Subjects coordinate on injunctive and descriptive norms, and we test which type of norm is more strongly related to behavior in a series of dictator games. Our experiment yields three insights. First, both injunctive and descriptive norms explain dictator behavior and recipients' guesses, but perceptions about descriptive social norms are behaviorally more relevant. Second, our findings corroborate that coordination games are a valid tool to elicit social norm perception on the subject level, as the individuals´ coordination choices are good predictors for their actual behavior. Third, average descriptive norms on the population level accurately predict behavior on the population level. This suggests that the elicitation of descriptive social norms using coordination games is a potentially powerful tool to predict behavior in settings that are otherwise difficult to explore.
date: 2019-09
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00027175
schriftenreihe_cluster_id: sr-3
schriftenreihe_order: 0668
ppn_swb: 1678110620
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-271750
language: eng
bibsort: SCHMIDTROBDOINJUNCTI201909
full_text_status: public
series: Discussion Paper Series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
volume: 0668
place_of_pub: Heidelberg
pages: 25
related_url_url: https://doi.org/10.11588/data/Z7IKIU
related_url_type: research_data
citation:   Schmidt, Robert J.  (2019) Do injunctive or descriptive social norms elicited using coordination games better explain social preferences?  [Working paper]     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/27175/1/Schmidt_2019_dp668.pdf