Modeling Social Preferences in Cross-National Interactions

Abstract

When making decisions, individuals do not only take into account their own payoffs but often additionally consider the consequences for others. Models of social preferences (e.g., social value orientation) aim to describe exactly how outcome for the self and for others are integrated. Models widely differ concerning whether and how various factors are taken into account. They contain for example different relative weights for the own and the other outcome, take into account inequality (i.e. differences in outcomes for self and other) and/or efficiency concerns (i.e. the sum of outcomes). Some models, such as Jenkins et al. (2018), also differentiate between cases of advantageous and disadvantageous inequality. Jenkins et al. suggested a Social Perception-Weighted (SPW) model of social valuation, which takes into account perceived competence and warmth from the stereotype content model and show its superiority in predicting behavior. We conduct a comprehensive model comparison by (i) applying SPW to cross-national interactions, (ii) testing SPW against competing models, and (iii) extending SPW by including further variables. We analyze choices from an incentivized, multi-national study (N = 6,182). In the experiment, individuals from 25 nations allocated money between themselves and individuals from the own and each other nation. Stereotype perception, perceived conflict between nations and further factors were measured. Based on these model comparisons, we identify relevant structures and factors and suggest an extended, integrative model of social preference for cross-national interactions taking into account social perception and further psychological influence factors.