This project funds exploratory work on new and potentially transformative methods for using laboratory experiments to study the effects of social influences on economic choices. Understanding how the expectations of others affect individual decision making has become increasingly important in Economics. There is empirical evidence that people are willing to punish others for not cooperating in public goods provision, and similar behavior has been observed in other contexts as well. This is an important topic of study, because understanding how these social factors influence decisions may provide an explanation for observations that otherwise appear to contradict the usual economic models of self-interested behavior. In addition, we know that coordinating behavior and expectations is important in strategic situations; social influences and expectations may be a key means of such coordination.
The award supports work on a new method called an "elicitation protocol" that may be useful across a wide range of social science disciplines. The protocol, if successful, will help researchers identify social influences across a broad range of individual decisions.
Broader impacts include the possible use of this method to help firms, governments, and consumer groups better understand individual behavior. The results may therefore be useful for government policy that seeks to shape such behavior in areas such as retirement saving. Funds will also help to support the PI's ongoing work with undergraduate students from under-represented groups.
