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Enabling or Limiting Cognitive Flexibility? Evidence of Demand for Moral Commitment

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  • Silvia Saccardo
  • Marta Serra-Garcia

Abstract

Moral behavior is more prevalent when individuals cannot easily distort their beliefs self-servingly. Do individuals seek to limit or enable their ability to distort beliefs? How do these choices affect behavior? Experiments with over 9,000 participants show preferences are heterogeneous—30 percent of participants prefer to limit belief distortion, while over 40 percent prefer to enable it, even if costly. A random assignment mechanism reveals that being assigned to the preferred environment is necessary for curbing or enabling self-serving behavior. Third parties can anticipate these effects, suggesting some sophistication about the cognitive constraints to belief distortion.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Saccardo & Marta Serra-Garcia, 2023. "Enabling or Limiting Cognitive Flexibility? Evidence of Demand for Moral Commitment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(2), pages 396-429, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:113:y:2023:i:2:p:396-429
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201333
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Amasino, Dianna R. & Pace, Davide Domenico & van der Weele, Joël, 2023. "Self-serving bias in redistribution choices: Accounting for beliefs and norms," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Gergely Hajdu & Nikola Frollová, 2024. "Overconfidence Due to a Self-reliance Dilemma," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp363, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    3. Simeon Schudy & Susanna Grundmann & Lisa Spantig, 2024. "Individual Preferences for Truth-Telling," CESifo Working Paper Series 11521, CESifo.
    4. Claire Rimbaud & Alice Soldà, 2024. "Avoiding the cost of your conscience: belief dependent preferences and information acquisition," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 27(3), pages 491-547, July.
    5. Hajdu, Gergely, 2024. "Excusing Beliefs about Third-party Success," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 362, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    6. Claire Rimbaud & Alice Soldà, 2024. "Avoiding the cost of your conscience: belief dependent preferences and information acquisition," Post-Print hal-04702729, HAL.
    7. Caliari, Daniele & Soraperra, Ivan, 2023. "Planning to cheat: Temptation and self-control," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2023-205, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    8. Gangadharan, Lata & Grossman, Philip J. & Xue, Nina, 2024. "Belief elicitation under competing motivations: Does it matter how you ask?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    9. Detemple, Julian, 2024. "Thoughts about the dictator and trust game," SAFE Working Paper Series 422, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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