Loss aversion and conflict: Evidence  from an Attacker-Defender Game

This research explores how people engage in conflict in an attacker-defender game and how loss aversion is associated to these decisions. Since loss aversion significantly affects risky decision making, it might also affect these strategic choices, but its influence on social conflict is not well understood. Participants(N=401) from the United Kingdom completed an attacker–defender game in which they made repeated decisions to invest resources in attack or defense against ingroup and outgroup opponents, while individual differences in loss aversion were measured. The study examined six hypotheses that participants would allocate more resources to defend than attack, engage in more attack towards outgroup than ingroups, and prioritize defending against ingroups over outgroups, and that these three patterns would be stronger among individuals higher in loss aversion. Results indicated that participants allocated more resources to defense than to attack. When facing ingroup members,...Show moreThis research explores how people engage in conflict in an attacker-defender game and how loss aversion is associated to these decisions. Since loss aversion significantly affects risky decision making, it might also affect these strategic choices, but its influence on social conflict is not well understood. Participants(N=401) from the United Kingdom completed an attacker–defender game in which they made repeated decisions to invest resources in attack or defense against ingroup and outgroup opponents, while individual differences in loss aversion were measured. The study examined six hypotheses that participants would allocate more resources to defend than attack, engage in more attack towards outgroup than ingroups, and prioritize defending against ingroups over outgroups, and that these three patterns would be stronger among individuals higher in loss aversion. Results indicated that participants allocated more resources to defense than to attack. When facing ingroup members, they invested more in attack compared to outgroup members, and they also devoted more resources to defending ingroup members than outgroup members. Loss aversion did not significantly influence these responses in attack or defense. The findings indicate that people prefer more defensive strategies and put more resources to defend their in-group members than outgroup suggesting that loss aversion has minimal influence on intergroup conflict behavior.Show less

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Loss aversion and conflict: Evidence from an Attacker-Defender Game