This dissertation studies the role of social contexts for prosocial behavior. Motivated by insights from psychology, preferences are assumed to be context-sensitive. The extent to which individuals are prosocial depends therefore on the social and economic context. This dissertation investigates...

This dissertation studies how psychological motives shape economic preferences and outcomes and how these motives are activated through contextual stimuli. In particular, I focus on the motive care which is a prosocial motive that facilitated cooperation by internalizing externalities, whereas...

According to several psychological and economic studies, non-binding communication can be an effective tool to increase trust and enhance cooperation. This paper focuses on reasons why people stick to a given promise and analyzes to what extent image concerns of being perceived as a promise...

In economics, the market has been understood to steer behavior towards a competitive equilibrium in which all economic actors behave optimally, and in which welfare of society is maximized. Yet many economists have also seen shortcomings to this ideal picture of the market in the form of limited...

According to several psychological and economic studies, non-binding communication can be an effective tool to increase trust and enhance cooperation. This paper focuses on reasons why people stick to a given promise and analyzes to what extent image concerns of being perceived as a promise...