Abstract
Social identity is embedded in social structures, generated by various social processes, and has multiple dimensions. We report findings from a laboratory experiment eliciting two-dimensional social identities: a horizontal identity determined either randomly or by preferences and a vertical identity defined by income status and determined either by luck or performance. We also vary income gaps between vertical identity groups. Participants make redistributive allocation decisions between two beneficiaries differing in identity attributes. We find robust evidence of in-group favoritism and that both the identity distance between the allocator and the in-group recipient and income gaps influence the degree of in-group favoritism.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 151-184 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| Journal | Theory and Decision |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- General Decision Sciences
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Applied Psychology
- General Social Sciences
- General Economics,Econometrics and Finance
- Computer Science Applications
Keywords
- Horizontal and vertical identity attributes
- In-group favoritism
- Income inequality
- Redistributive allocation
- Social identities
