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Believing in Others’ Dishonesty: An Experimental Study on Beliefs about Lying

Author

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  • Silvia Lübbecke

    (University of Paderborn)

Abstract

Several experiments provide evidence for discriminating behavior towards the out-group—even in settings where group division is arbitrary. This paper studies whether discriminatory behavior can be traced back to subjects holding discriminating beliefs. An experiment is presented where subjects are randomly assigned to minimal groups. First, subjects are asked to draw a marble in private and report whether it is white or speckled. Second, their beliefs are elicited about how many of the others in the respective group have reported the payoff-maximizing speckled marble. Data show that subjects expect others to behave dishonestly in general, but do not differ in their beliefs about the behavior of in- and out-group members. Further, the results indicate that subjects’ beliefs about others’ honesty are positively correlated with the individual lying behavior. Subjects who report the profit-maximizing type also believe in significantly more payoff-maximizing reports by others compared to those subjects who report the unfavorable outcome.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Lübbecke, 2018. "Believing in Others’ Dishonesty: An Experimental Study on Beliefs about Lying," Working Papers Dissertations 32, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pdn:dispap:32
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    File URL: http://groups.uni-paderborn.de/wp-wiwi/RePEc/pdf/dispap/DP32.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Group identity; Minimal groups; Intergroup discrimination; Incentivized belief elicitation; Experimental economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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