Date of Award

12-2023

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Anthony DeFulio, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Cynthia Pietras, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Scott Gaynor, Ph.D.

Keywords

Behavior analysis, collective bargaining, endowment effect, union, WTA-WTP gap

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effects of delay, stake, and hypothetical group size on labor valuation in the context of increasing and decreasing labor demand. Challenges in collective bargaining are associated with work stoppages, which can cause economic losses, lack of service, and worker stress. Participants were asked to value their labor given a set of conditions in two experiments. Participants in experiment 1 (n = 49) valued their labor in both increasing and decreasing demand context. Conversely, participants in experiment 2 (n = 139) valued their labor in only one of the contexts. Delay to changes, stake size, and hypothetical group size were manipulated. Data were analyzed visually for experiment 1, and multiple linear regression models were constructed for experiment 2. We found that half of the sample in experiment 1 demonstrated a pattern of behavior consistent with the endowment effect. In experiment 2, demand and delay were statistically significant predictors of labor valuation. Lastly, individuals’ k values were strong predictors of labor valuation in the context of collective bargaining.

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