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Abstract:
This is part of a broader project I am involved in, on the determinants of sharing behavior. In the literature, two types of determinants are considered. One part of the literature focuses on determinants that are idiosyncratic. Social preferences, ideals of justice, empathy are considered to be individuals’ characteristics. Another part of the literature focuses on interactions. Reciprocity, mimicry, are considered to be stable mechanisms at any particular point in time. Of course, the tradition in economics is more in accordance with the first type of interpretation. Without denying the importance of learning and the fact that ideals of justice and psychological traits are acquired, in economics, this seems justified considering that people’s choices are determined by intrinsic characteristics because that is what matters at any one point in time. Our point here is that things are not so simple, even at such a given point. On the one hand, mechanisms do not only depend on the type of interaction but also on people’s characteristics. On the other hand, which specific components of an individual’s characteristics matter, depend on the type of interaction he is involved in.
We ran a series of experiments based on a double sequential dictator game in which the recipient in a first dictator game becomes the dictator in a second dictator game. This a variant of the type of protocol used to highlight reciprocity behavior. However, here, the first dictator has two recipients and in the second game one of the two recipients becomes a dictator for the other one with whom he shared the same experience. Furthermore, at the end of each session, subjects have to answer a series of psychological questionnaires. It appears that the first dictator’s choice does not depend on psychological traits or gender while the second dictator’s choice does, significantly. Therefore, the first dictator’s choice and the second dictator’s choice, which has to be considered also as a reaction to the first choice, do not have the same determinants. Intrinsic characteristics do not matter for the first dictator’s choice but matter a lot for the reaction. Gender is particularly significant in explaining the latter. When men and women’s behavior are analyzed separately, it appears that women reciprocate a lot while men don’t. Men’s reactions depend on psychological traits. Finally, men may react by being more generous than the dictator with whom they were associated in the first game, but this generosity can be explained just as well by narcissism as by empathy.