| Abstract: |
We study the behavior of 12 pairs of undergraduate students while they were
involved in a simple coordination game requiring motor interaction. Three
experimental conditions were defined according to whether a monetary prize was
given to both or only one subject, if the couple was in successfully
completing the required assignment. Electromyographic potentials (EMG) were
recorded from the right first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle, a muscle
critically involved in the motor task. We also collected written answers from
a standard questionnaire from which we constructed individual measures of
Social Capital (SC), based on organized group interaction, religious and
political involvement. These measures are collected, by standard practice, to
estimate individual pro-social attitudes and behavior. Consistently with our
simple behavioral model, by which EMG signals are direct measures of subjects’
personal concern (call it utility) associated to the given task, our evidence
shows that EMG is increasing in the subjects’ own monetary reward. When we
split the subject pool into two subsamples (according to various measures of
Social Capital obtained from the questionnaire), we find that monetary
incentives explain the level of subjects’ EMG only in the subsample
characterized by low SC, while, for subjects with (comparatively) higher SC,
effort in the coordination task is much less sensitive to whether it is
directly rewarded or not. This result is robust across the different SC index
specifications. The present findings seem to support the possibility that an
electrophysiological measure, such as EMG, could reveal the most profound
attitudes and believes that guide social interaction, and that our relatively
inexpensive and ready-to-use technology can back-up socio-economic research in
a very effective way. |