Other-Regarding Preferences and Social Norms

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn A. Stout
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Other Regarding Preferences

Cognitive adaptations to criminal justice lead to “paranoid” norm obedience

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr M. Patrzyk ◽  
Martin Takáč
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Moral Motivation ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Agent Based Model ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Other Regarding Preferences

People often cooperate and obey norms in situations where it is clear they cannot be caught and punished. Such behavior does not serve their self-interest, as they are foregoing opportunities to exploit others without any negative consequences. Hence, it is not clear how this behavior could have evolved. Some previous explanations invoked the existence of other-regarding preferences, moral motivation, or intrinsic concern for social norms. In this study, we develop an agent-based model illustrating that none of these is necessary for the emergence of norm-abiding behavior. Our model suggests evolutionary pressure against norm violators may lead to the emergence of a bias, causing agents to be extremely sensitive to the probability of being caught. Because of this, they often incorrectly classify anonymous situations as non-anonymous ones and obey social norms due to the fear of being punished. In our simulations, we show that cooperation is promoted by (1) the number of interactions actually observed, (2) the strength of punishments against norm violators, and most importantly, (3) the uncertainty in agent classifications.

In evolutionary games, enlightened self-interests are still ultimately self-interests

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Getty
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Evolutionary Games ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Behavioral Sciences ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Other Regarding Preferences

Evolutionary theory provides a firm foundation for the unification of the behavioral sciences, and the beliefs, preferences, and constraints (BPC) model is a useful analytical tool for understanding human behavior. However, evolutionary theory suggests that if other-regarding preferences expressed by humans have evolved under selection, they are ultimately, if not purely, in the constrained, relative self-interests of individuals who express them.

Going Far by Going Together: James M. Buchanan’s Economics of Shared Ethics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Art Carden ◽  
Gregory W. Caskey ◽  
Zachary B. Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Business Ethics ◽  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Public Good ◽  
Public Capital ◽  
The Public ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Other Regarding ◽  
Ethical Communication ◽  
Other Regarding Preferences

We explore themes in Nobel Prize–winning economist James M. Buchanan’s work and apply his Ethics and Economic Progress to problems facing individuals and firms. We focus on Buchanan’s analysis of the individual work ethic, his exhortations to “pay the preacher” of the “institutions of moral-ethical communication,” and his notion of law as “public capital.” We highlight several ways people with other-regarding preferences can contribute to social flourishing and some of the ways those who have “affected to trade for the public good” might want to redirect their efforts. We show how Buchanan’s work has considerable implications for business ethics. Just as his economic analysis of politics changed how we understand government, we think his economic analysis of ethics can (and should) change how we understand business.

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