Social proximity and the erosion of norm compliance

Bicchieri, Cristina; Dimant, Eugen; Gächter, Simon; Nosenzo, Daniele

Abstract

We study how compliance with norms of pro-social behavior is influenced by peers' compliance in a dynamic and non-strategic experimental setting. We show that social proximity among peers is a crucial determinant of the effect. Without social proximity, norm compliance erodes swiftly because participants only conform to observed norm violations while ignoring norm compliance. With social proximity, participants conform to both types of observed behaviors, thus halting the erosion of compliance. Our findings stress the importance of the broader social context for norm compliance and show that, even in the absence of social sanctions, norm compliance can be sustained in repeated interactions, provided there is group identification, as is the case in many natural and online environments.

Citation

Bicchieri, C., Dimant, E., Gächter, S., & Nosenzo, D. (2022). Social proximity and the erosion of norm compliance. Games and Economic Behavior, 132, 59-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2021.11.012

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 26, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 9, 2021
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Deposit Date: Nov 27, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 10, 2023
• Journal: Games and Economic Behavior
• Print ISSN: 0899-8256
• Electronic ISSN: 1090-2473
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 132
• Pages: 59-72
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2021.11.012
• Keywords: Economics and Econometrics; Finance
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6793559
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0899825621001597?via%3Dihub