The signaling role of feedback in the repeated public goods game: Experimental evidence from the laboratory

TL;DR

This study shows that redundant feedback in repeated public goods games increases contributions by signaling rather than just providing information.

Contribution

The paper provides empirical evidence that redundant feedback increases cooperation through its signaling role, not just its informative role.

Findings

Redundant feedback significantly promotes contributions in repeated public goods games.

Conditional cooperators use feedback for its informative function, while free riders use it for signaling.

The signaling effect of feedback can be isolated from its informative function.

Abstract

This paper empirically examines the signaling role of feedback in the repeated public goods game. To eliminate the potential impact of feedback’s informative function, we test whether the provision of detailed yet redundant feedback leads to increased contributions. Our findings demonstrate that redundant information significantly promotes contributions. Given the equal informative power in both treatments, the observed increase in contributions can be attributed to the signaling effect. Furthermore, an examination of cooperative disposition heterogeneity reveals that conditional cooperators primarily utilize feedback for its informative function, while free riders primarily exploit it for its signaling function. These results offer empirical evidence of the signaling function of feedback and offer valuable insights into the design of feedback provision in repeated public goods settings.

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