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Ally or adversary: The effect of identifiability in inter-group conflict situations

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  • Ritov, Ilana
  • Kogut, Tehila

Abstract

People's tendency to be more generous towards identifiable victims than towards unidentifiable or statistical victims is known as the identifiable victim effect. Recent research (Kogut & Ritov, 2007) called the generality of the effect into question, showing that in cross-national contexts, identifiability affects mostly willingness to help victims belonging to one's 'in-group'. The present research extends the investigation by examining the identifiability effect in inter-group conflict situations. In three experiments, employing hypothetical contributions as well as real monetary allocation in a dictator-game, we found that identifiability increased generosity towards a member of the adversary group, but it decreased generosity towards a member of one's own group. Possible mechanisms underlying this interaction are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Ritov, Ilana & Kogut, Tehila, 2011. "Ally or adversary: The effect of identifiability in inter-group conflict situations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(1), pages 96-103, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:116:y:2011:i:1:p:96-103
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Falk, Armin & Fischbacher, Urs, 2006. "A theory of reciprocity," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 293-315, February.
    2. repec:cup:judgdm:v:2:y:2007:i::p:79-95 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kogut, Tehila & Ritov, Ilana, 2007. ""One of us": Outstanding willingness to help save a single identified compatriot," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 104(2), pages 150-157, November.
    4. Small, Deborah A & Loewenstein, George, 2003. "Helping a Victim or Helping the Victim: Altruism and Identifiability," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 5-16, January.
    5. Kogut, Tehila & Ritov, Ilana, 2005. "The singularity effect of identified victims in separate and joint evaluations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 106-116, July.
    6. Jenni, Karen E & Loewenstein, George, 1997. "Explaining the "Identifiable Victim Effect."," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 235-257, May-June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pellegrin, Claire & Grolleau, Gilles & Mzoughi, Naoufel & Napoleone, Claude, 2018. "Does the Identifiable Victim Effect Matter for Plants? Results From a Quasi-experimental Survey of French Farmers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 106-113.
    2. Johanna Wiss & David Andersson & Paul Slovic & Daniel Västfjäll & Gustav Tinghög, 2015. "The influence of identifiability and singularity in moral decision making," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 10(5), pages 492-502, September.
    3. repec:cup:judgdm:v:13:y:2018:i:5:p:458-466 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:cup:judgdm:v:10:y:2015:i:5:p:492-502 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Erlandsson, Arvid & Björklund, Fredrik & Bäckström, Martin, 2015. "Emotional reactions, perceived impact and perceived responsibility mediate the identifiable victim effect, proportion dominance effect and in-group effect respectively," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 1-14.
    6. Ilana Ritov & Tehila Kogut, 2017. "Altruistic behavior in cohesive social groups: The role of target identifiability," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Tehila Kogut & Ilana Ritov & Enrico Rubaltelli & Nira Liberman, 2018. "How far is the suffering? The role of psychological distance and victims’ identifiability in donation decisions," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 13(5), pages 458-466, September.
    8. Anna O. Kuzminska, 2016. "Problems with Measurement of Trust and Trustworthiness. What Best Predicts Trust Game Outcomes? (Zaufanie i wiarygodnosc: pomiar i wplyw informacji o przynaleznosci grupowej )," Research Reports, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 2(22), pages 119-130.
    9. Heizler, Odelia & Israeli, Osnat, 2021. "The identifiable victim effect and public opinion toward immigration; a natural experiment study," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 93(C).

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