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Observed punishment spillover effects: a laboratory investigation of behavior in a social dilemma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

David L. Dickinson
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608-2051, USA
E. Glenn Dutcher*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Finance & Marketing, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093, USA
Cortney S. Rodet
Affiliation:
Economic Science Institute, Chapman University, Orange, CA 92886, USA

Abstract

Punishment has been shown to be an effective reinforcement mechanism. Intentional or not, punishment will likely generate spillover effects that extend beyond one’s immediate decision environment, and these spillovers are not as well understood. We seek to understand these secondary spillover effects in a controlled lab setting using a standard social dilemma: the voluntary contributions mechanism. We find that spillovers occur when others observe punishment outside their own social dilemma. However, the direction of the spillover effect depends crucially on personal punishment history and whether one is personally exempt from punishment or not.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2014 Economic Science Association

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-014-9399-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Appendix A: Experimental Instructions Game Order ACB
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