The power of moral words: Loaded language generates framing effects in the extreme dictator game

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Capraro, Valerio, Vanzo, Andrea
Format: Preprint
Published: 2019
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author Capraro, Valerio
Vanzo, Andrea
author_facet Capraro, Valerio
Vanzo, Andrea
contents Understanding whether preferences are sensitive to the frame has been a major topic of debate in the last decades. For example, several works have explored whether the dictator game in the give frame gives rise to a different rate of pro-sociality than the same game in the take frame, leading to mixed results. Here we contribute to this debate with two experiments. In Study 1 ($N=567$) we implement an extreme dictator game in which the dictator either gets \$0.50 and the recipient gets nothing, or the opposite (i.e., the recipient gets \$0.50 and the dictator gets nothing). We experimentally manipulate the words describing the available actions using six terms, from very negative (e.g., stealing) to very positive (e.g., donating) connotations. We find that the rate of pro-sociality is affected by the words used to describe the available actions. In Study 2 ($N=221$) we ask brand new participants to rate each of the words used in Study 1 from ``extremely wrong'' to ``extremely right'' . We find that these moral judgments explain the framing effect in Study 1. In sum, our studies provide evidence that framing effects in an extreme Dictator game can be generated using morally loaded language.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_1901_02314
institution arXiv
publishDate 2019
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The power of moral words: Loaded language generates framing effects in the extreme dictator game
Capraro, Valerio
Vanzo, Andrea
Physics and Society
Computer Science and Game Theory
Populations and Evolution
Understanding whether preferences are sensitive to the frame has been a major topic of debate in the last decades. For example, several works have explored whether the dictator game in the give frame gives rise to a different rate of pro-sociality than the same game in the take frame, leading to mixed results. Here we contribute to this debate with two experiments. In Study 1 ($N=567$) we implement an extreme dictator game in which the dictator either gets \$0.50 and the recipient gets nothing, or the opposite (i.e., the recipient gets \$0.50 and the dictator gets nothing). We experimentally manipulate the words describing the available actions using six terms, from very negative (e.g., stealing) to very positive (e.g., donating) connotations. We find that the rate of pro-sociality is affected by the words used to describe the available actions. In Study 2 ($N=221$) we ask brand new participants to rate each of the words used in Study 1 from ``extremely wrong'' to ``extremely right'' . We find that these moral judgments explain the framing effect in Study 1. In sum, our studies provide evidence that framing effects in an extreme Dictator game can be generated using morally loaded language.
title The power of moral words: Loaded language generates framing effects in the extreme dictator game
topic Physics and Society
Computer Science and Game Theory
Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.02314