Social image, observer identity, and crowding up

2025/04/11 by Yamit Asulin, Yuval Heller, Nira Munichor +1 · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies #Social and Cultural Dynamics #Social and Intergroup Psychology

paper · doi:10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.003

openalex publication_date 2025/04/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/03/27

Abstract

People behave more pro-socially when observed by others. We develop a theoretical model incorporating social distance between agent and observer and test its predictions in a field experiment with 670 high-school students. The experiment manipulated the observer's identity (friend, acquaintance, or none) and capped personal rewards. Observability increased effort, and personal rewards enhanced above-threshold effort when effort was observable. Among young adolescents, these effects were stronger when observed by an acquaintance rather than a friend. While partly exploratory, our findings suggest a positive correlation between social distance and social-image effects.

Citations

• Age differences in resistance to peer influence.
• The impact of social approval and framing on cooperation in public good situations
• Public goods experiments without confidentiality: a glimpse into fund-raising
• Testing for Altruism and Social Pressure in Charitable Giving
• Incentives and Prosocial Behavior
• Social Signaling and Childhood Immunization: A Field Experiment in Sierra Leone

Discussions

• Our paper is now in print. social image effects may be stronger if the observer is socially distant, as observed actions have a weaker effect on friends' beliefs. In a field experiment with adolescent [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]