Abstract
We conducted two replication studies of Andreoni and Miller’s (2002) modified dictator game study, which revealed that participants’ altruistic decisions were consistent with the notion of utility maximization. The two studies (Study 1 with small stake sizes and Study 2 with large stake sizes) included 11 modified dictator games, in which participants allocated a fixed number of tokens between themselves and their recipient. In eight of the 11 games, each token’s value was different for each player. In Study 1 (N = 78), 85% of participants did not violate the generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) throughout the 11 games. In Study 2 (N = 58), 81% of participants did not violate GARP. These results suggest that participants’ decisions were largely consistent with utility maximization. Following Andreoni and Miller’s analysis, we classified all participants (except one anomalous case) into the Selfish, Leontief (egalitarian), and Perfect Substitutes (utilitarian) groups. The majority of participants were classified into either the Leontief or Prefect Substitutes groups (i.e., non-selfish groups).
Highlights
Hu man societ ies a re cha racter ized by la rge -scale cooperation among genetically unrelated individuals
In Study 1 (N = 78), 85% of participants did not violate the generalized axiom of revealed preference (GARP) throughout the games
An evolutionary explanation of this uniquely human sociality is strong reciprocity, which consists of a predisposition to cooperate with others and a predisposition to punish non-cooperators (Gintis, 2000)
Summary
Hu man societ ies a re cha racter ized by la rge -scale cooperation among genetically unrelated individuals. In the dictator game, in which one player (allocator) decides how to distribute a sum of money between them and another player (recipient), participants in the allocator role tend to give the recipient non-zero amounts, instead of keeping everything for themselves (e.g., Forsythe et al, 1994). This finding may be accounted for by confusion: Participants did not understand the rules of the game
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