Loading…
“Do the right thing:” The effects of moral suasion on cooperation
The use of moral appeals to affect the behavior of others is pervasive (from the pulpit to ethics classes) but little is known about the effects of moral suasion on behavior. In a series of experiments we study whether moral suasion affects behavior in voluntary contribution games and the mechanisms...
Saved in:
Published in: | Journal of public economics 2014-09, Vol.117, p.28-38 |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
Summary: | The use of moral appeals to affect the behavior of others is pervasive (from the pulpit to ethics classes) but little is known about the effects of moral suasion on behavior. In a series of experiments we study whether moral suasion affects behavior in voluntary contribution games and the mechanisms by which behavior is altered. We find that observing a message with a moral standard according to the golden rule or, alternatively, utilitarian philosophy, results in a significant but transitory increase in contributions above the levels observed for subjects that did not receive a message or received a message that advised them to contribute without a moral rationale. When players have the option of punishing each other after the contribution stage, the effect of the moral messages on contributions becomes persistent: punishments and moral messages interact to sustain cooperation. We also investigate the mechanisms through which moral suasion operates and find that it affects both expectations and preferences.
•We study whether moral suasion affects behavior in a series of voluntary contribution games experiment.•Moral suasion has a significant but transitory effect.•Moral suasion has a persistent effect when a punishment stage is available after the contribution stage of the voluntary contribution experiment.•Moral suasion operates by affecting both preferences and expectations about others. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0047-2727 1879-2316 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2014.05.002 |