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DR@W Forum - David Hugh-Jones (Department of Economics, University of 糖心TV)
David Hugh-Jones (Department of Economics, University of 糖心TV)
Reciprocity Towards Groups in a Public Goods Game
Experiments have shown that humans are reciprocators, who wish to reward others' good behaviour and punish their bad behaviour. Field studies of conflict report episodes of mutual revenge between groups. In a laboratory experiment, our subjects punished outgroup members for their fellow outgroup members' bad behaviour. This group reciprocity was strongest when the outgroup members had higher income, and when subjects felt unfairly treated. Group reciprocity was motivated by preferences, not just by expectations about how group members would behave: subjects punished outgroup members who were unable to make choices affecting them. Our results demonstrate behavioral roots for a possible causal link from injustice and inequality to conflict.