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dc.contributor.authorWoike, Jan Kristian
dc.contributor.authorKanngiesser, P
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-22T10:59:33Z
dc.date.available2020-06-22T10:59:33Z
dc.date.issued2019-07-30
dc.identifier.issn2470-2986
dc.identifier.issn2470-2986
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/15801
dc.description.abstract

Promises are crucial for human cooperation because they allow people to enter into voluntary commitments about future behavior. Here we present a novel, fully incentivized paradigm to measure voluntary and costly promise-keeping in the absence of external sanctions. We found across three studies (N = 4,453) that the majority of participants (61%–98%) kept their promises to pay back a specified amount of a monetary endowment, and most justified their decisions by referring to obligations and norms. Varying promise elicitation methods (Study 1a) and manipulating stake sizes (Study 2a) had negligible effects. Simultaneously, when others estimated promise-keeping rates (using two different estimation methods), they systematically underestimated promise-keeping by up to 40% (Studies 1b and 2b). Additional robustness checks to reduce potential reputational concerns and possible demand effects revealed that the majority of people still kept their word (Study 3). Promises have a strong normative power and binding effect on behavior. Nevertheless, people appear to pessimistically underestimate the power of others’ promises. This behavior–estimation gap may prevent efficient coordination and cooperation.

dc.format.extent68-88
dc.format.mediumElectronic-eCollection
dc.languageen
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMIT Press
dc.subjectagreements
dc.subjectcontracts
dc.subjectcooperation
dc.subjectpromises
dc.subjectsocial norms
dc.titleMost people keep their word rather than their money
dc.typejournal-article
dc.typearticle
plymouth.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34485788
plymouth.volume3
plymouth.publication-statusPublished
plymouth.journalOpen Mind
dc.identifier.doi10.1162/opmi_a_00027
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/Faculty of Health
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/Faculty of Health/School of Psychology
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/REF 2021 Researchers by UoA
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/REF 2021 Researchers by UoA/UoA04 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/REF 2021 Researchers by UoA/UoA04 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience/UoA04 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience MANUAL
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/REF 2021 Researchers by UoA/UoA04 Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience/UoA04 REF peer reviewers
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/Users by role
plymouth.organisational-group/Plymouth/Users by role/Academics
dc.publisher.placeUnited States
dcterms.dateAccepted2019-05-14
dc.rights.embargodate2020-6-30
dc.identifier.eissn2470-2986
dc.rights.embargoperiodNot known
rioxxterms.funderVolkswagen Foundation
rioxxterms.identifier.projectNavigating the social world - A cross-cultural and developmental perspective on social norms
rioxxterms.versionofrecord10.1162/opmi_a_00027
rioxxterms.licenseref.urihttp://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate2019-07-30
rioxxterms.typeJournal Article/Review
plymouth.funderNavigating the social world - A cross-cultural and developmental perspective on social norms::Volkswagen Foundation


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