Adjustable Reciprocity: Exploring the Influence of Peer Group Standards on Reciprocal Decisions

摘要

To date, only a few studies investigated how referent others affect reciprocal decision making. Bicchieri and Xiao (2009), for example, investigated the interaction of the others' influ-ences and internal fairness standards in reciprocal decision (Bicchieri and Xiao 2009). Other research only identified norm feedback (e.g., Konow 2000, Krupka and Weber 2008) or information about referent others (e.g., Gaechter, Nosenzo, Sefton 2012) as single cues to individual reciprocal decisions. On the other hand, in the domain of consumption the influ-ence of referent others has been widely examined. In this line, recent research on social norms found that information about referent others, or in-groups, might serve as "magnets" for individuals (Schultz et al. 2007), i.e. when observing the behavior of others, they adjust their behavior to deviate as less as possible from the group standards. Therefore, this study asks how individuals react on in-group standards in reciprocal decisions and what the underlying processes are.