Social norms offer explanation for inconsistent effects of incentives on prosocial behavior

Caroline Graf; Eva-Maria Merz; Bianca Suanet; Pamala Wiepking

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2023.05.003

Social norms offer explanation for inconsistent effects of incentives on prosocial behavior

Caroline Graf^*, Eva-Maria Merz, Bianca Suanet, Pamala Wiepking

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Humans are widely considered to be susceptible to incentives, which are frequently employed to encourage specific behaviors. However, incentives have surprisingly inconsistent effects when used to motivate prosocial behavior – sometimes producing no behavioral change or even backfiring. To explain these inconsistencies, we extended a prominent image-based model of prosocial behavior, based on the idea that social norms shape the reputational consequences of receiving incentives. We tested the key predictions of this model by examining the blood donation behavior of 26,000 individuals from 28 European countries. Our preregistered analyses revealed that social norms can indeed predict how incentives, either in the form of financial payments or time off work, relate to individual-level blood donation behavior. Incentives are associated with higher levels of prosociality if they align with existing norms. The results suggest that humans may not be universally persuaded by incentives to behave prosocially, but that the effectiveness of incentives depends on social norms.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	429-441
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Volume	211
Early online date	19 May 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2023.05.003
Publication status	Published - Jul 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 802227). The work by P.W. at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, is funded through a donation by the Stead Family, her work at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is funded by the Dutch Charity Lotteries. None of the funding sources played a role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, in the written report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Funding

This work was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 802227). The work by P.W. at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, is funded through a donation by the Stead Family, her work at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is funded by the Dutch Charity Lotteries. None of the funding sources played a role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, in the written report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Funders	Funder number
Dutch Charity Lotteries
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	802227
European Research Council

Keywords

Blood donation
Cross-cultural study
Incentives
Prosocial behavior
Social norms

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10.1016/j.jebo.2023.05.003

2104.13652v1Submitted manuscript, 3.47 MB

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title = "Social norms offer explanation for inconsistent effects of incentives on prosocial behavior",

abstract = "Humans are widely considered to be susceptible to incentives, which are frequently employed to encourage specific behaviors. However, incentives have surprisingly inconsistent effects when used to motivate prosocial behavior – sometimes producing no behavioral change or even backfiring. To explain these inconsistencies, we extended a prominent image-based model of prosocial behavior, based on the idea that social norms shape the reputational consequences of receiving incentives. We tested the key predictions of this model by examining the blood donation behavior of 26,000 individuals from 28 European countries. Our preregistered analyses revealed that social norms can indeed predict how incentives, either in the form of financial payments or time off work, relate to individual-level blood donation behavior. Incentives are associated with higher levels of prosociality if they align with existing norms. The results suggest that humans may not be universally persuaded by incentives to behave prosocially, but that the effectiveness of incentives depends on social norms.",

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Social norms offer explanation for inconsistent effects of incentives on prosocial behavior

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