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The Effect of Group Attachment and Social Position on Prosocial Behavior. Evidence from Lab-in-the-Field Experiments

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  • Delia Baldassarri
  • Guy Grossman

Abstract

Social life is regulated by norms of fairness that constrain selfish behavior. While a substantial body of scholarship on prosocial behavior has provided evidence of such norms, large inter- and intra-personal variation in prosocial behavior still needs to be explained. The article identifies two social-structural dimensions along which people's generosity varies systematically: group attachment and social position. We conducted lab-in-the-field experiments involving 2,597 members of producer organizations in rural Uganda. Using different variants of the dictator game, we demonstrate that group attachment positively affects prosocial behavior, and that this effect is not simply the by-product of the degree of proximity between individuals. Second, we show that occupying a formal position in an organization or community leads to greater generosity toward in-group members. Taken together, our findings show that prosocial behavior is not an invariant social trait; rather, it varies according to individuals' relative position in the social structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Delia Baldassarri & Guy Grossman, 2013. "The Effect of Group Attachment and Social Position on Prosocial Behavior. Evidence from Lab-in-the-Field Experiments," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-9, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0058750
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058750
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Jiang Bing & Allen Samuel K., 2019. "To Be a Blood Donor or Not to Be? Investigating Institutional and Student Characteristics at a Military College," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, October.
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    9. Pakhtigian, Emily L. & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K., 2024. "Social setting, gender, and preferences for improved sanitation: Evidence from experimental games in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    10. Uri Gneezy & Alex Imas, 2016. "Lab in the Field: Measuring Preferences in the Wild," CESifo Working Paper Series 5953, CESifo.
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    13. Jennifer A. Loughmiller-Cardinal & James Scott Cardinal, 2023. "The Behavior of Information: A Reconsideration of Social Norms," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-27, April.

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