Date/Time Date(s) - 22/06/20232:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Siyu Wang, Associate Professor at Wichita University, will present to our economic graduate students and faculty on Thursday, June 22 in KTH 334!
Siyu Wang is a behavioural economist At Wichita University, as well as graduate program Director, and Director of the Wichita Behavioural Economics Labratory.
Abstract
This study investigates the mechanisms driving the effectiveness of free-form communication in promoting cooperation within a sequential social dilemma game. We hypothesize that the self-constructing nature of free-form communication enhances the sincerity of messages and increases the disutility of dishonoring promises. Our experimental results demonstrate that free-form messages outperform both restricted promises and treatments where subjects select and use previously constructed free-form messages. Interestingly, we find that selected free-form messages and restricted promises achieve similar levels of cooperation. We observe that free-form messages with higher sincerity increase the likelihood of high-price and high-quality choices, thereby promoting cooperation. These messages frequently include promises and honesty, while threats do not promote cooperation. Our findings emphasize the crucial role of the self-constructed nature of free-form messages in promoting cooperation, exceeding the impact of message content compared to restricted communication protocols.
View Siyu’s professional website.