{"id":33342,"date":"2021-04-21T09:00:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T13:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=33342"},"modified":"2021-04-29T21:26:39","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T01:26:39","slug":"acts-of-selflessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/acts-of-selflessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Norms Promote Acts of Selflessness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How can social norms<\/a> promote acts of selflessness? Why do people try harder when they’re not being paid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiments have shown that when given free stuff, people are less likely to be greedy and more likely to selflessly leave some for others. When those items cost even a small amount of money, people are more likely to greedily purchase more. This could have serious implications for society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn how “free” things can increase acts of selflessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Why Free Things Make Us Selfless<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll examine how market norms and social norms may affect the way people act when compensation is demanded of them and how that often leads to acts of selflessness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we\u2019ll discuss the standard economic laws of demand, and how these laws are bent when products are free. These laws state that when the price of a product is lowered, the demand for the product will increase, for two reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. More people are in the market because they can now afford the product.<\/li>
  2. When the price is lower, each person is likely to buy more units of the product. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Based on the standard economic model, you\u2019d rationally assume that if you offered a product for free, the demand would increase substantially. Everyone would be able to \u201cafford\u201d the product, and each person would want more than one unit of it. But, as the following experiment reveals, standard economics doesn\u2019t take into account how \u201cfree\u201d changes these laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Experiment: Free Candy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    A candy stand was set up in an MIT student center. In the first round of the experiment, the candies were sold at the low price of 2 cents apiece. In the second round of the experiment, the candies were free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n