Summer 2016
Article
Journal of Economic Perspectives

Motivated Bayesians: Feeling Moral While Acting Egoistically

By: Francesca Gino, Michael I. Norton and Roberto A. Weber

Format:Print

Abstract

A growing body of research yields ample evidence that individuals’ behavior often reflects an apparent concern for moral considerations. Using a broad definition of morality—to include varied non-egoistic motivations such as fairness, honesty, and efficiency as possible notions of “right” and “good”—economic research indicates that people’s behavior often reflects such motives (Fehr and Schmidt 2006; Abeler, Becker, and Falk 2014). Perhaps this should not come as a surprise to economists, given that Adam Smith prominently highlighted such motivations in The Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759—17 years before The Wealth of Nations.

Keywords

Behavior; Ethics

Citation

Gino, Francesca, Michael I. Norton, and Roberto A. Weber. "Motivated Bayesians: Feeling Moral While Acting Egoistically." Journal of Economic Perspectives 30, no. 3 (Summer 2016): 189–212.