Social norms of sharing in high school: Teen giving in the dictator game

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2011
Volume: 80
Issue: 3
Pages: 603-612

Authors (6)

Eckel, Catherine (Texas A&M University) Grossman, Philip J. (Monash University) Johnson, Cathleen A. (not in RePEc) de Oliveira, Angela C.M. (not in RePEc) Rojas, Christian (not in RePEc) Wilson, Rick (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.335 = (α=2.01 / 6 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We conduct a study of altruistic behavior among high school students using the dictator game. We find a much stronger norm of equal splitting than previously observed in the typical university student population, with almost 45% of high school subjects choosing an equal split of the endowment. Tests indicate that this difference is not due to factors traditionally considered in the analysis of these games, such as demographics. Rather, we find that dictators who score higher on a Social Generosity measure are much more likely to conform to the 50/50 norm. Additionally, high school students who score in the high range of an Independence measure send significantly less to recipients.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:80:y:2011:i:3:p:603-612
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
6
Added to Database
2026-01-25