We report the results of ultimatum game experiments designed to test for differences in the behavior of women and men. Women's proposals are on average more generous than men's, regardless of the sex of the partner, and women respondents are more likely to accept an offer of a given amount. A...

The Nash equilibrium predictions of standard game theory often fail in experimental test. While innumerable refinements to Nash equilibrium have been suggested, they too fail in empirical tests. What seems apparent is that humans rely on a rich mixture of contextual cues and signals to determine...

Although evidence indicates that religious persons are more generous on average than nonreligious persons, little work has been done to determine if this greater generosity is a general pattern or is, rather, specific to church-based institutions. Limited research addresses if, or how, religious...

We report the results of laboratory experiments that examine whether third-party contributions crowd out private giving to charity. Subjects play a single dictator game with a charity as the recipient. The subject chooses his preferred charity from a list. There are four treatment combinations:...

This paper explores the extent to which team identity can deter shirking and free-riding behavior in a team production setting. Team identity is manufactured and identification is enhanced by a variety of means. Created team identity is chosen over existing team identity to ensure that all...

We report the results of experiments conducted over the internet between two different laboratories. Each subject at one site is matched with a subject at another site in a trust game experiment. We investigate whether subjects believe they are really matched with another person, and suggest a...

Classroom experiments are becoming increasingly popular as active-learning exercises for courses in economics. There are many situations where technology is needed to facilitate the effective use of classroom experiments. This article examines how computers and wireless handheld devices are...

Much recent innovation in teaching economics has focused on active learning strategies and on the use of technology. At the same time, budget realities make large lecture classes a fact of life for principles of economics courses at many universities. Unfortunately, neither active learning...

This research examines one mechanism by which people decide whether to trust strangers. Using a laboratory setting that provides subjects with controlled information about their counterparts, we test whether attractive subjects gain a “beauty premium” in a game involving trust and...

Experiments can be used not only to test theory but also to measure preferences and assess heterogeneity of behavior. I discuss the design of experimental measures of ahruism and trust, as well as their uses in assessing how behavior varies across individuals, and across partners that a given...