Ingratiation: Experimental evidence

- Our lab experiment studies individuals' ingratiatory behavior through opinion conformity in a flat wage environment.
- A majority of individuals change their opinion strategically after learning that held by the subject in charge of assigning payoffs.
- Opinion proximity is less rewarded when it is common knowledge that opinions can be manipulated strategically.
- Making the manipulation of opinions costly to the individuals reduces ingratiation.
- Introducing managerial performance pay makes ingratiation less rewarding but does not eliminate it.

We investigate experimentally ingratiatory behavior expressed by opinion conformity. Both individuals' performance at a task and their opinions on various topics can be observed before unequal payoffs are assigned by a second mover. In some treatments, first movers can change their opinion after learning that held by the second mover. We find evidence of high ingratiation indices, as opinion conformity is rewarded. However, second movers reward conformity less when it is common knowledge that opinions can be manipulated strategically. Introducing a monetary cost for changing opinion reduces ingratiation. Introducing performance-related pay for the second mover makes ingratiation less rewarding but does not eliminate it completely. Reducing the noise in the measurement of ability has little effect.