An experimental solidarity game

Abstract 120 subjects played a three-person-game in which each player could win DM 10,00 with probability 2/3. Before the independent random decisions were made, the players had to decide under double blind conditions how much they were willing to give to one loser or each of two losers in the case of their winning. The great majority of subjects were willing to make substantial conditional gifts. The most common type of gift behavior does not lend itself to a straightforward interpretation as the result of altruistic utility maximization. We found an education effect, a gender effect, and a false consensus effect.

[1]  Irving M. Lane,et al.  EQUITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF REWARDS , 1970 .

[2]  Gary E. Bolton,et al.  Dictator game giving: Rules of fairness versus acts of kindness , 1998, Int. J. Game Theory.

[3]  Thomas Gilovich,et al.  Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation , 1993 .

[4]  G. Marwell,et al.  Economists free ride, does anyone else? : Experiments on the provision of public goods, IV , 1981 .

[5]  Reinhard Selten,et al.  Laboratory experimentation in economics: Equity and coalition bargaining in experimental three-person games , 1987 .

[6]  L. Ross,et al.  The “false consensus effect”: An egocentric bias in social perception and attribution processes , 1977 .

[7]  Matthew L. Spitzer,et al.  Entitlements, Rights, and Fairness: An Experimental Examination of Subjects' Concepts of Distributive Justice , 1985, The Journal of Legal Studies.

[8]  W. Albers,et al.  On the Prominence Structure of the Decimal System , 1983 .

[9]  W. Güth,et al.  Ultimatum bargaining behavior : a survey and comparison of experimental results , 1990 .

[10]  Robyn M. Dawes,et al.  Behavior, communication, and assumptions about other people's behavior in a commons dilemma situation. , 1977 .

[11]  E. Fehr,et al.  Does Fairness Prevent Market Clearing? An Experimental Investigation , 1993 .

[12]  Miles S. Kimball.  Farmers' Cooperatives as Behavior Toward Risk , 1988 .

[13]  Martin Ravallion,et al.  Reciprocity without commitment: Characterization and performance of informal insurance arrangements , 1993 .

[14]  Gary E. Bolton,et al.  An Experimental Test for Gender Differences in Beneficent Behavior , 1995 .

[15]  Catherine C. Eckel,et al.  Are Women Less Selfish Than Men?: Evidence From Dictator Experiments , 1998 .

[16]  J. Brown-Kruse,et al.  Gender effects in laboratory public goods contribution: Do individuals put their money where their mouth is? , 1993 .

[17]  J. Horowitz,et al.  Fairness in Simple Bargaining Experiments , 1994 .