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This research explores whether reputational concerns or altruism primarily motivate prosocial behavior in gambling scenarios.

June 23, 2015Frontiers in PsychologyOpen Access

Reputational concerns, not altruism, motivate restraint when gambling with other people's money

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Randomized trial examines reputational concerns and altruism in gambling behavior with partners' money, suggesting key factors in moral hazard.

This research explores whether reputational concerns or altruism primarily motivate prosocial behavior in gambling scenarios.
Two studies were conducted involving moral-hazard gambling tasks with partners' money.
In Study 1, participants' choices were made visible to their partners to assess prosocial behavior due to reputational concerns.
In Study 2, the impact of transparency on prosocial behavior was tested, comparing direct partner choices versus third-party attributions.
Participants displayed higher prosocial behavior when their partners could see their decisions, indicating reputational influence.
Transparency in choices increased prosociality towards a single partner compared to choices made without attribution to a third party.
Findings validate that protecting one's reputation is a crucial factor in restraining selfish actions in moral hazard situations.

Arfer et al. (2015) studied this question.

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Randomized trial examines reputational concerns and altruism in gambling behavior with partners' money, suggesting key factors in moral hazard.