Doctoral Dissertation in Economics: The Negative Image Effect of Incentivizing Prosocial Behavior

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

This award funds doctoral dissertation research in Economics that uses controlled decision-making experiments to determine whether and why financial incentives for volunteering sometimes result in reduced volunteer effort. Previous researchers have argued that receiving a financial incentive for volunteering or donations could mar one?s social image. If this is the case,then offering an incentive might actually reduce prosocial volunteer effort; the financial incentive means that volunteering no longer convinces society that you are a generous person. This idea has been incorporated into behavioral theories, but these theories are not are not able to forecast when one may expect incentives to encourage prosocial behavior. Similarly, no study has been able to precisely identify the negative image effect. In carefully testing the mechanisms involved in volunteer behavior, these laboratory experiments answer these questions. Study 1 implements a novel treatment that identifies and measures the negative image effect as well as other main effects. Study 2 tests a new theory that can explain the results of past research in a straightforward way. The associated negative image effect of incentivizing volunteer behavior may well be smaller for someone with an established, as opposed to unestablished, good volunteer reputation, because those with established reputations are already known to volunteer for good, not greedy, reasons. Study 3 investigates the role of diminishing returns to incentives in the context of volunteer behavior. In achieving identification of the negative image effect as well as proposing and testing novel mechanisms that may influence prosocial behavior, the results of this research provide new insight into prosocial behavior. The laboratory stands as an ideal tool for acquiring these results, since the observability of one's actions and associated reputation as well as the level of volunteer behavior and offered incentives can all be tightly controlled and measured. Broader Impacts: In addition to contributing to interdisciplinary research in economics, psychology, and decision science, these experimental results will provide valuable information to government and nonprofit organizations about the encouragement of volunteer behavior. Expected follow-up field studies will engender partnerships between academia and non-profit or government organizations.