ABSTRACT

Third-party punishment is a form of peer-to-peer sanctioning that is influenced by descriptive norms. The present study aims to investigate how aggregate peer punishment and the presence of a free rider who never punishes influences the formation of third-party punishment norms. Participants were exposed to social feedback indicating either low, high, or high & free rider peer punishment. Over time, participants conformed to average peer punishment leading to the emergence and persistence of different sanctioning norms in each group. The presence of one free rider significantly reduced the average punishment and increased the frequency of free riding behavior. These findings highlight the critical role of descriptive norms and suggest the presence of a ‘bad apple’ effect in third-party punishment.

摘要

第三方惩罚是一种受描述性规范影响的对等制裁形式。本研究旨在调查同伴惩罚的总和以及从不惩罚的搭便车者的存在如何影响第三方惩罚规范的形成。参与者接触到社会反馈，这些反馈表明低，高，高和免费的同伴惩罚。随着时间的流逝，参与者遵循平均的同伴惩罚，导致每个组中出现和坚持不同的制裁规范。一名搭便车的存在显着降低了平均惩罚并增加了搭便车行为的频率。这些发现突出了描述性规范的关键作用，并暗示了第三方惩罚中存在“坏苹果”效应。