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Navigating moral trade-offs

Author

Listed:
  • Barron, Kai
  • Stüber, Robert
  • van Veldhuizen, Roel

Abstract

An extensive literature documents that people are willing to sacrifice personal material gain to adhere to a moral motive. However, less is known about the psychological mechanisms that operate when two moral motives come into conflict. We hypothesize that individuals adhere to the moral motive that aligns with their self-interest. We test this hypothesis using experiments that induce a conflict between two of the most-studied moral motives: fairness and truth-telling. Consistent with our hypothesis and across experiments, our results show that individuals do prefer to adhere to the moral motive that is more aligned with their self-interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Barron, Kai & Stüber, Robert & van Veldhuizen, Roel, 2024. "Navigating moral trade-offs," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Economics of Change SP II 2024-301, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:wzbeoc:306849
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868.
    2. Christoph Engel, 2011. "Dictator games: a meta study," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 14(4), pages 583-610, November.
    3. Uri Gneezy & Agne Kajackaite & Joel Sobel, 2018. "Lying Aversion and the Size of the Lie," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(2), pages 419-453, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Moral dilemmas; Dictator game; Lying game; Motives; Motivated reasoning;
    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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