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Social Preferences in the Lab: A Comparison of Students and a Representative Population
Author(s) -
Cappelen Alexander W.,
Nygaard Knut,
Sørensen Erik Ø.,
Tungodden Bertil
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the scandinavian journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.725
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1467-9442
pISSN - 0347-0520
DOI - 10.1111/sjoe.12114
Subject(s) - dictator game , social preferences , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , sample (material) , dictator , equity (law) , social psychology , inequity aversion , population , experimental economics , economics , psychology , behavioral economics , microeconomics , sociology , political science , demography , inequality , mathematical analysis , chemistry , mathematics , chromatography , politics , law
We report from a lab experiment conducted with a sample of participants that is nationally representative for the adult population in Norway and two student samples (economics students and non‐economics students). The participants make choices both in a dictator game (a non‐strategic environment) and in a generalized trust game (a strategic environment). We find that the representative sample differs fundamentally from the student samples, both in the relative importance assigned to different moral motives (efficiency, equity, and reciprocity) and in the level of selfish behavior. It is also interesting to note that the gender effects observed in the student samples do not correspond to the gender effects observed in representative sample. Finally, whereas economics students behave less pro‐socially than non‐economics students, the two student groups are similar in the relative importance they assign to different moral motives.