A comparison of individual and group behavior in a competition with cheating opportunities

• While it is well established that individuals and groups make different economic decisions, the reasons for the behavioral differences are still not fully understood. We experimentally compare individual and group behavior in a competitive setting where cheating can be used to outperform the competitor. Our design allows us to exogenously control for the type of the decision maker, the type of the competitor, and whether the competitor is able to cheat or not. The results show that there is much more cheating in inter-group competition than inter-individual competition which is in line with findings from other interactive games. We show furthermore that this difference is mainly caused by expectations about the competitor. Groups have different expectations than individuals when they compete with a group and they react strongly to the other group's ability to cheat. (c) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Individual behavior

Group behavior

Lying

Honesty

Competition

Expectations

interindividual-intergroup discontinuity

gender-differences

tournaments

dishonesty

honesty

performance

deception

reduction

promises

people

Business & Economics

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)