Research
Research
Kahneman in Quotes and Reflections
(with Brett Buttliere, Alexios Arvanitis, Michał Białek, Shoham Choshen-Hillel, Shai Davidai, Thomas Gilovich, Uriel Haran, Qiao Kang Teo, Vojtech Kotrba, Chengwei Liu, David Mandel, Gordon Pennycook, Tobias R. Rebholz, Michael Schulte-Mecklenbeck, Norbert Schwarz, Zeev Shtudiner, Steven Sloman, Joakim Sundh, Cass Sunstein, Daniel Västfjäll and Mario Weick)
2024. Psychological Inquiry, 35(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2024.2366813
Do monetary incentives damage social esteem? An empirical framework to detect crowding-out potential for prosocial behaviours
(with Daniele Nosenzo and Silvia Sonderegger)
Status: Draft available upon request.
10-min video presentation (starts in min 3).
Abstract:
Monetary incentives sometimes backfire and "crowd out" prosocial behaviour. A standard explanation is that monetary incentives reduce the social esteem received from taking a prosocial action. However, because social esteem is not readily observable, there is a lack of direct empirical evidence confirming and measuring this mechanism. We propose a novel, portable, and incentive-compatible methodology to measure the social esteem received from prosocial behaviours. Our methodology is based on vignettes and incentivized second-order beliefs, and it provides a potential toolkit to identify when monetary incentives are more likely to backfire before implementing them. We run a high-powered pre-registered experiment with a UK sample (N = 5,368) within the context of COVID-19 vaccinations. Following our theoretical setup, we specifically focus on comparing (i) reward vs. penalty, (ii) small vs. large monetary incentives, and (iii) low vs. high baseline vaccination rates. We observe significant reduction in social esteem from monetary incentives, but only in the case of rewards. The size of the incentive and the baseline vaccination rate seem to matter little. Using our experimental results, we estimate how much an individual needs to value social esteem over money to be "crowded out" in our setup.
Luxembourgers underestimate others' everyday sustainable behaviors, personal norms and regulatory policy support. This is driven by both the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance
(with Francesco Fallucchi, Philippe Van Kerm and Bertrand Verheyden)
Status: Manuscript in preparation.
This paper is part of a large-scale project called SOC2050. Here is a 3 min video presentation of the project findings, including those covered in this paper.
Abstract:
We elicit Luxembourgers' social expectations through a high-powered, pre-registered online study with incentivized second-order beliefs (N = 1,292) and find that they significantly underestimate how much others engage in everyday sustainable behaviors, the level of engagement others deem appropriate, and support for policies that restrict and tax unsustainable behaviors. We focus on three behavioral domains with the highest potential for reducing carbon emissions: consuming vegetarian meals, reducing home heating, and using public transportation. Participants also underestimate how much others donate to offset carbon emissions in an incentivized donation decision. Heterogeneity analyses by comparing the most and least sustainable individuals, as well as supporters and detractors of a policy, reveal that underestimations of behaviors and policy support are driven by both the false consensus effect and pluralistic ignorance, while underestimation of personal norms is driven exclusively by the false consensus effect. Finally, we show that social expectations are positive predictors of sustainable behaviors, personal norms, and policy support.
Effectiveness of correcting misperceived social norms: A longitudinal experimental approach with everyday sustainable behaviors and policy support
(with Francesco Fallucchi, Philippe Van Kerm and Bertrand Verheyden)
Status: Manuscript in preparation
This paper is part of a large-scale project called SOC2050. Here is a 3 min video presentation of the project findings, including those covered in this paper.
Induced threat and gender norms
(with Sakshi Prasad)
Status: Preparing for data collection
Misperceptions and intergroup cooperation
(with Pierce Gately)
Status: Design stage
(with Bertrand Verheyden, Michel Tenikue, Philippe Van Kerm, Francesco Fallucchi and David Cristelo)
2024. Luxembourg Stratégie, Ministry of Economy.
The SOC2050 study, commissioned by Luxembourg Strategy and conducted by LISER from November 2022 to August 2023, assessed the citizens’ interest in transitioning society and the economy in Luxembourg towards greater resilience and sustainability. This initiative contributes to the United Nations Goal – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG12).
This report describes the final results of the longitudinal online survey conducted in SOC2050. This study surveyed 912 individuals who participated in a three-wave study over 10 months and who provided rich information about their behaviours and attitudes toward sustainability. Four domains were selected for their major impact on sustainability and their carbon footprint: meat consumption, mobility patterns, home energy consumption, and the acceptance of financial sacrifices to reduce one’s carbon impact. The survey also collected in each wave participants’ support towards six hypothetical policies aimed at regulating or taxing unsustainable behaviours.