Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers Creation-Date: 2012-01-09 Number: 12-003/1 Author-Name: Jona Linde Author-Email: j.linde@uva.nl Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam, CREED Author-Name: Joep Sonnemans Author-Email: j.h.sonnemans@uva.nl Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam, CREED Title: Social Preferences in Private Decisions Abstract: Social preference models were originally constructed to explain two things: why people spend money to affect the earnings of others and why the income of others influences reported happiness. We test these models in a novel experimental situation where participants face a risky decision that affects only their own earnings. In the social (individual) treatment participants do (not) observe the earnings of others. In the social treatment gambles therefore not only affect absolute but also relative earnings. Outcome-based social preference models therefore predict a treatment difference. We find that decisions are generally the same in both treatments, in line with rule-based social preference models, like procedural fairness. Classification-JEL: C91, D63, D81 Keywords: fairness, social preferences, decision making under risk, experiment File-Url: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/12003.pdf File-Format: application/pdf File-Size: 347320 bytes Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20120003