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Effects of double-anonymity on pro- and anti-social behavior: Experimental evidence from a lab in the field

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  • Vorlaufer, Tobias

Abstract

This paper examines whether different degrees of subject-experimenter anonymity influence pro- and anti-social behavior in lab-in-the-field experiments. To do this, a Dictator Game (DG) and a Joy-of-Destruction Mini-Game (JoD) were conducted with 480 subjects in rural Namibia. In addition to a strict double-anonymous treatment two single-anonymous treatments are introduced. One of them involves the disclosure of decisions directly to the experimenter. Thereby, it is possible to disentangle the effect of pure double-anonymity from the procedure of the decision-making. The presented results carry relevant implications for a methodologically sound implementation of lab-in-the-field experiments. Both in the DG and JoD, strict double-anonymous procedures do not produce significantly different behavior than under single-anonymity. Whether revealing decisions personally to the experimenter influences individual behavior cannot be consistently answered with the obtained results. The personal disclosure leads to significantly more pro-social and less anti-social behavior in one out of two treatment comparisons. From a conservative perspective, researchers are however advised to assure sufficient privacy for subjects from experimenters during the decision-making process.

Suggested Citation

  • Vorlaufer, Tobias, 2019. "Effects of double-anonymity on pro- and anti-social behavior: Experimental evidence from a lab in the field," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 216-225.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:216-225
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2019.07.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Ortiz-Riomalo, Juan Felipe & Koessler, Ann-Kathrin & Engel, Stefanie, 2021. "Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    2. Sanjaya, Muhammad Ryan, 2023. "Antisocial behavior in experiments: What have we learned from the past two decades?," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 104-115.
    3. Ryo Takahashi & Kenta Tanaka, 2020. "Hostility toward breaching restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic," Working Papers 2007, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.

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