Peer effects of ambition
Ambition as the desire for personal achievement is an important driver of behavior. Using laboratory experiments, we study the role of social influence on ambition in two distinct domains of achievement, namely performance goals and task complexity. In the first case, participants set themselves a performance goal for a task they have to work on. The goal is associated with a proportional bonus that is added to a piece rate if the goal is reached. In the second case, they choose the complexity of the task, which is positively associated with the piece rate compensation and effort. In both cases we test whether observing peer choices influences own choices. We find strong evidence of peer effects on performance goals. In contrast, we find no support for peer effects on the choice of task complexity.
Year of publication: |
2019
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Authors: | Albert, Philipp ; Kübler, Dorothea ; Silva-Goncalves, Juliana |
Publisher: |
München und Berlin : Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München und Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190 - Rationality and Competition |
Subject: | Peer effects | ambition | goal setting | task difficulty | laboratory experiment |
Saved in:
freely available
Series: | Discussion Paper ; 148 |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 1670071197 [GVK] hdl:10419/208048 [Handle] |
Classification: | C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior ; D83 - Search, Learning, Information and Knowledge ; D91 - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving ; i24 ; M5 - Personnel Economics |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012141854