Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game

Studies have demonstrated the influence of the cultural values of individualism and collectivism on individuals’ economic behavior (e.g., competition and trade). By using individualistic and collectivistic texts to prime participants’ minds in a lab experiment, we investigated the impact of the cult...

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Main Authors: Jingjing Jiao, Jun Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Behavioral Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/169
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author Jingjing Jiao
Jun Zhao
author_facet Jingjing Jiao
Jun Zhao
author_sort Jingjing Jiao
collection DOAJ
description Studies have demonstrated the influence of the cultural values of individualism and collectivism on individuals’ economic behavior (e.g., competition and trade). By using individualistic and collectivistic texts to prime participants’ minds in a lab experiment, we investigated the impact of the cultural values of individualism and collectivism on allocation behavior in an ultimatum game (UG) and dictator game (DG). In the dictator game, we found that participants in the collectivism-priming condition reported a slightly higher mean offer than in the individualism-priming condition, and participants had an average higher acceptance rate of the proposers’ offer in the collectivism-priming (vs. individualism-priming) condition in the ultimatum game. Our findings suggest that participants exhibit more altruistic allocation behavior and are more tolerant of unfair allocation behavior after being primed by the collectivistic (vs. individualistic) texts. In comparison with participants who did not undergo initiation, we also found that Chinese participants who had been influenced by collectivist values for a long time remained unaffected after the initiation of collectivism, but shifted their allocation behavior (i.e., showed decreased altruistic allocation behavior and reduced tolerance of unfair allocation behavior) when individualism was primed.
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spelling doaj.art-6a3b485e89394a18a2f983bafd0627ec2023-11-16T19:09:31ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2023-02-0113216910.3390/bs13020169Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator GameJingjing Jiao0Jun Zhao1School of Economics and Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Economics and Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaStudies have demonstrated the influence of the cultural values of individualism and collectivism on individuals’ economic behavior (e.g., competition and trade). By using individualistic and collectivistic texts to prime participants’ minds in a lab experiment, we investigated the impact of the cultural values of individualism and collectivism on allocation behavior in an ultimatum game (UG) and dictator game (DG). In the dictator game, we found that participants in the collectivism-priming condition reported a slightly higher mean offer than in the individualism-priming condition, and participants had an average higher acceptance rate of the proposers’ offer in the collectivism-priming (vs. individualism-priming) condition in the ultimatum game. Our findings suggest that participants exhibit more altruistic allocation behavior and are more tolerant of unfair allocation behavior after being primed by the collectivistic (vs. individualistic) texts. In comparison with participants who did not undergo initiation, we also found that Chinese participants who had been influenced by collectivist values for a long time remained unaffected after the initiation of collectivism, but shifted their allocation behavior (i.e., showed decreased altruistic allocation behavior and reduced tolerance of unfair allocation behavior) when individualism was primed.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/169individualismcollectivismultimatum gamedictator gameallocation behavior
spellingShingle Jingjing Jiao
Jun Zhao
Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
Behavioral Sciences
individualism
collectivism
ultimatum game
dictator game
allocation behavior
title Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
title_full Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
title_fullStr Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
title_full_unstemmed Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
title_short Individualism, Collectivism, and Allocation Behavior: Evidence from the Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game
title_sort individualism collectivism and allocation behavior evidence from the ultimatum game and dictator game
topic individualism
collectivism
ultimatum game
dictator game
allocation behavior
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/13/2/169
work_keys_str_mv AT jingjingjiao individualismcollectivismandallocationbehaviorevidencefromtheultimatumgameanddictatorgame
AT junzhao individualismcollectivismandallocationbehaviorevidencefromtheultimatumgameanddictatorgame