Are happier people less judgmental of other people's selfish behaviors? Laboratory evidence from trust and gift exchange games

Drouvelis, Michalis and Powdthavee, Nattavudh (2013) Are happier people less judgmental of other people's selfish behaviors? Laboratory evidence from trust and gift exchange games. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1231). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

What determines people’s moral judgments of selfish behaviors? Here we study whether people’s normative views in trust and gift exchange games, which underlie many situations of economic and social significance, are themselves functions of positive emotions. We used experimental survey methods to investigate people’s moral judgments empirically, and explored whether we could influence subsequent judgments by deliberately making some individuals happier. We found that moral judgments of selfish behaviors in the economic context depend strongly on other people’s behaviors, but their relationships are significantly moderated by an increase in happiness for the person making the judgment.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/series.asp?...
Additional Information:	© 2013 The Authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C1 - Econometric and Statistical Methods: General > C19 - Other
Date Deposited:	08 Aug 2013 13:10
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 20:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/51573

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