Friday, June 28, 2013

"Big Givers" Get Punished for Being Nonconformists

http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=131067

June 27, 2013
Contact: Terry Goodrich

WACO, Texas (June 27, 2013) -- People punish generous group members by rejecting them socially -- even when the generosity benefits everyone -- because the "big givers" are nonconformists, according to a Baylor University study.

The study, published in the journal Social Science Research, showed that besides socially rejecting especially generous givers, others even "paid" to punish them through a points system.

"This is puzzling behavior," said researcher Kyle Irwin, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. "Why would you punish the people who are doing the most -- especially when it benefits the group? It doesn't seem to make sense on the surface, but it shows the power of norms. It may be that group members think it's more important to conform than for the group to do well."

"Free-riders" - those who were stingy but benefited from others' larger contributions -- also were nonconformists and ostracized.

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