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Chen, Daniel L. (2019) Law and Literature: Theory and Evidence on Empathy and Guile. Review of Law and Economics, 15 (1).
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Abstract
Legal theorists have suggested that literature stimulates empathy and affects moral judgment and decision-making. I present a model to formalize the potential effects of empathy on third parties. Empathy is modeled as having two components–sympathy (the decision-maker’s reference point about what the third party deserves) and emotional theory of mind (anticipating the emotions of another in reaction to certain actions). I study the causal effect with a data entry experiment. Workers enter text whose content is randomized to relate to empathy, guile, or a control. Workers then take the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and participate in a simple economic game. On average, workers exposed to empathy become less deceptive towards third parties. The result is stronger when workers are nearly indifferent. These results are robust to a variety of controls and model specifications.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Date: | March 2019 |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Normative Commitments, Other-Regarding Preferences, Empathy, Deception, Guile |
| JEL Classification: | D03 - Behavioral Economics; Underlying Principles D64 - Altruism K00 - General |
| Subjects: | B- ECONOMIE ET FINANCE |
| Divisions: | TSE-R (Toulouse) |
| Site: | UT1 |
| Date Deposited: | 22 May 2018 08:50 |
| Last Modified: | 07 Sep 2020 13:11 |
| ["eprint_fieldname_oai_identifier" not defined]: | oai:tse-fr.eu:32423 |
| URI: | http://publications.ut-capitole.fr/id/eprint/25826 |
Available Versions of this Item
-
Does Empathy Beget Guile? Experimental Evidence. (deposited 25 Mar 2019 12:38)
- Law and Literature: Theory and Evidence on Empathy and Guile. (deposited 22 May 2018 08:50) [Currently Displayed]
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