Using an experimental trust game, we investigate whether guilt-aversion motivates individuals to keep their promise. In our modified trust game, we allow the trustor to purchase insurance in case of a non-performance by the trustee. In our design, the purchase of insurance signals lower...

The central question this paper explores is “Do people keep their promise to avoid expectation-based guilt?” Using a novel design wherein we endogenously vary the promisor's expectation of what the promisee expects from him, we find that promisors are heterogeneous in their reasons for...

This paper experimentally investigates the hypothesis that promise-keeping behavior is affected by the opportunities that a counterpart foregoes by relying on the promise. We present two motivational mechanisms that could drive such an effect. One is that people dislike causing harm through a...