Practice what you preach: Credibility-enhancing displays and the growth of open science
Name
1-s2.0-S0749597820303952-main.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
626.77 KB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
121a7c12a110322da9542cc72fe86d5d
Author(s)
Kraft-Todd, Gordon T
Rand, David Gertler
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Version
Final published version
Abstract
© 2020 The Authors How can individual scientists most effectively spread the adoption of open science practices? Engaging in open science practices presents a social dilemma because they are individually costly (given the current incentive schemes in academia) but collectively beneficial (due to production of higher quality and more accessible science). Mechanisms for promoting cooperation in social dilemmas typically rely on normativity—but open science practices are still comparatively rare. Further, individuals may be tempted to dishonestly “virtue signal” due to growing support for open science. We formulate a solution based on the theory of credibility-enhancing displays: advocates who are known to themselves practice the behavior they are advocating for (particularly if they are prestigious) are more effective at convincing others—specifically because their actions provide an honest signal of their belief in the behavior's value. Thus, advocates for open science practices should find ways to engage in those practices visibly and often.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.10.009
