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The relevance of irrelevant information in the dictator game

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  • Abhijit Ramalingam

    (School of Economics, University of East Anglia)

Abstract

We examine the sensitivity of the dictator game to information provided to subjects. We investigate if individuals internalize completely irrelevant information about players when making allocation decisions. Subjects are provided with their score and the scores of recipients on a quiz prior to making decisions in multiple dictator games. Quiz scores have no bearing on the game or on players' endowments and hence represent extraneous information. We find that dictators reward good performance on the quiz. We find that information that is irrelevant for the game might nevertheless be relevant for choices. Our results highlight the extreme sensitivity of the dictator game to information and context.

Suggested Citation

  • Abhijit Ramalingam, 2012. "The relevance of irrelevant information in the dictator game," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(1), pages 746-754.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-12-00140
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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2012/Volume32/EB-12-V32-I1-P69.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Doñate-Buendía, Anabel & García-Gallego, Aurora & Petrović, Marko, 2022. "Gender and other moderators of giving in the dictator game: A meta-analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 280-301.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    dictator game; experiment; irrelevant information; context;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C9 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

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