The causal effect of cultural identity on cooperation
通过针对中国移民的囚徒困境实验，发现凸显不同文化身份（美国或中国）以及提供合作率信息会显著影响合作行为，表明文化和信念对合作有因果作用。
The impact of culture on non-kin cooperation has been singled out as critical for economic activity. However, causal evidence of culture's influence on cooperation remains scant. In this paper we provide such evidence, focusing on two key components of culture: preferences and beliefs. Adopting the view that culture is one aspect of an individual's multi-faceted self-concept (identity) we conduct a Prisoner's Dilemma experiment with first- and second-generation Chinese immigrants at a large US public university. In a two-by-two design, we exogenously vary: i) the salience of participants' American or Chinese cultural identities; and ii) the capacity for culture to affect beliefs by randomly providing previous-session cooperation-rate information. Comparing behavior across cultures and information conditions, our results suggest a prominent role for both preferences and beliefs.