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Moral Motive Selection in the Lying-Dictator Game

Author

Listed:
  • Barron, Kai

    (WZB Berlin Social Science Center)

  • Stüber, Robert

    (NYU Abu Dhabi)

  • Veldhuizen, Roel van

    (Department of Economics, Lund University)

Abstract

An extensive literature documents that people are willing to sacrifice personal material gain to adhere to a moral motive. Yet, less is known about what happens when moral motives are in conflict. We hypothesize that individuals engage in what we term “motive selection,” namely adhering to the moral motive that aligns with their self-interest. We test this hypothesis using a laboratory experiment that induces a conflict between two of the most-studied moral motives: fairness and truth-telling. In line with our hypothesis, our results show that individuals prefer to adhere to the moral motive that is more aligned with their self-interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Barron, Kai & Stüber, Robert & Veldhuizen, Roel van, 2022. "Moral Motive Selection in the Lying-Dictator Game," Working Papers 2022:16, Lund University, Department of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2022_016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Motivated reasoning; dictator game; lying game; motives; moral dilemmas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General

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