From research: Group context and nasty behaviour

Can group context affect decision making regarding behaviour causing financial harm? Social scientists have long been concerned about the perception of diffused responsibility and its effects on behaviour. In a paper published by dr. L. Cingl on behalf of VŠE and his team in the Journal of the European Economic Association, this thesis was tested in a series of large-scale experiments, seeking evidence and potential mechanisms of proneness to nasty behaviour.

The sample consisted of more than 10 000 subjects, including university students, adolescents and nationally representative samples of adults. Findings provide evidence that people are more prone to engage in behaviour causing financial harm to others when making decisions in a group rather than individually.

These findings suggest, among further implications, that when seeking limiting obstructionism, organizations and public bodies should aspire towards creating environments that foster perceptions of individual responsibility, e.g. by framing decisions as the choices of specific individuals, rather than presenting them as decisions of whole units, teams or committees.

Read further about establishing this behavioural regularity and implications of these findings at: https://academic.oup.com/jeea/article/22/5/2075/7458654