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Cooperation in the name of God? Experimental evidence from Ghana and Tanzania

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  • Hoffmann, Lisa

Abstract

How is religion linked to prosocial behavior? Theoretically, religion is expected to increase prosocial behavior toward in-group members: believers are assumed to fear supernatural entities that punish or reward their deeds and therefore behave in a prosocial manner. However, empirical evidence for this relationship remains rare. The paper presents the results from artefactual field experiments that were conducted with 1249 Christian and Muslim believers in Accra, Ghana, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Applying a prisoner’s dilemma game, following a between-subject design a non-religious control treatment versus two religion treatments were tested: (1) the idea that God punishes bad deeds and (2) the idea that God rewards good deeds. Contrary to expectations, the study finds that religious reminders can even decrease cooperation rates. Thus, reminders of God punishing or rewarding actions on Earth can, under certain conditions, backfire and reduce levels of cooperation.

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  • Hoffmann, Lisa, 2022. "Cooperation in the name of God? Experimental evidence from Ghana and Tanzania," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:93:y:2022:i:c:s0167487022000848
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2022.102573
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Juan Carlos Parra & George Joseph & Quentin Wodon, 2016. "Religion and Social Cooperation: Results from an Experiment in Ghana," The Review of Faith & International Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(3), pages 65-72, July.
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    8. James Andreoni & William Harbaugh & Lise Vesterlund, 2003. "The Carrot or the Stick: Rewards, Punishments, and Cooperation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(3), pages 893-902, June.
    9. Chuah, Swee-Hoon & Hoffmann, Robert & Ramasamy, Bala & Tan, Jonathan H.W., 2014. "Religion, ethnicity and cooperation: An experimental study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 33-43.
    10. Reitmann, Ann-Kristin & Goedhuys, Micheline & Grimm, Michael & Nillesen, Eleonora E.M., 2020. "Gender attitudes in the Arab region – The role of framing and priming effects," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    11. Lisa Hoffmann & Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2020. "Universal Love or One True Religion? Experimental Evidence of the Ambivalent Effect of Religious Ideas on Altruism and Discrimination," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(3), pages 603-620, July.
    12. Friederike Mengel, 2018. "Risk and Temptation: A Meta‐study on Prisoner's Dilemma Games," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(616), pages 3182-3209, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cao, Yu & Capra, C. Mónica & Su, Yuxin, 2023. "Do prosocial incentives motivate women to set higher goals and improve performance?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cooperation; Religion; Prisoner’s dilemma; Artefactual field experiment; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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