Anthropo-lab seminar // The Role of Social Norms in Prosocial Behavior

Contact et inscription : marie.pele@univ-catholille.fr

Biography

I am a behavioral and experimental economist at Paris School of Business. I conduct field and laboratory experiments to study the social and individual forces shaping decision-making. My research finds application in various domains, such as environmental sustainability, social norm change, voter turnout or team cooperation.

Summary of your presentation

The Role of Social Norms in Prosocial Behavior What motivates people to behave prosocially, even at a personal cost? Decades of experimental research in economics and psychology have suggested several factors that justify prosocial behavior. However, it remains unclear which behavioral motive plays a prominent role in decision making. This study investigates the relative importance of self-interest, inequity aversion, and social norms in prosocial decision-making. While traditional economic models emphasize outcome-based preferences, emerging research highlights the role of social norms—unwritten rules that prescribe socially appropriate behavior. Using a novel meta-analytic approach, we construct a dataset from multiple Dictator Game experiments where social norms are explicitly measured. We then structurally estimate and compare the explanatory power of
outcome-based and norm-based models. Our findings suggest that a model incorporating both motivations provides the best fit for observed behavior. Furthermore, we explore the moderating role of norm strength, showing that individuals are more likely to conform to norms when there is strong consensus about their appropriateness. Lastly, I introduce the Social Norm Database, a comprehensive dataset containing experiments on cooperation and prosociality that measure both behavior and social norms. This resource provides valuable insights into how social norms shape our behavior.