Casting Doubt: Image Concerns and the Communication of Social Impact
研究有代价的亲社会行为中，发送者如何策略性沟通社会影响，在夸大影响以说服他人和淡化影响以自我辩解之间权衡，实验表明形象关注会减少对积极影响的沟通。
Abstract We investigate strategic communication about the social impact of costly prosocial actions. A ‘sender’ with noisy information about impact sends a cheap-talk message to a ‘receiver’, upon which both agents choose whether to act. In the presence of social preferences and image concerns, the sender trades off persuasion, exaggerating impact to induce receiver action, and justification, downplaying impact to cast doubt on the effectiveness of action and excuse her own passivity. In an experiment on charitable giving we find evidence for both motives. In line with our theory and a justification motive, increasing image concerns reduces communication of positive impact.