Explaining Discrepancies Between Lab and Field Observations
An economist observes that in a controlled laboratory game, individuals tend to punish non-cooperative behavior even at a personal cost. However, in a large-scale, anonymous real-world market setting, this type of 'altruistic punishment' is rarely seen. Based on the primary arguments from a key 2007 study examining the generalizability of lab experiments, analyze two distinct factors that could account for this difference in behavior.
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Economics
Economy
Social Science
Empirical Science
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CORE Econ
Introduction to Microeconomics Course
Related
Scrutiny in Economic Experiments
Artificiality of Experimental Tasks and Environments
Stakes in Economic Experiments
Self-Selection and Participant Pools in Economic Experiments
A key 2007 study examined why behavior in controlled economic experiments might not reflect real-world actions. Match each factor identified as a potential cause for this discrepancy with the scenario that best illustrates it.
Explaining Discrepancies Between Lab and Field Observations
In a university laboratory, an experiment finds that 80% of student participants, when given a $20 endowment, choose to give half of it to an anonymous peer. However, university records show that the average student donation to a campus-wide charity drive is less than $5 per year. Based on the central critiques of a prominent 2007 study on the external validity of lab experiments, which of the following provides the most comprehensive explanation for this discrepancy?
A central argument in critiques of laboratory-based economic experiments is that the artificiality and scrutiny of the lab environment systematically cause participants to behave more selfishly than they would in comparable real-world situations.
Evaluating Experimental Designs for External Validity