The Impact of Ethical Feedback on Emotions and Moral Decisions: A Labor Market Experiment

Abstract

We explore the influence of ethical feedback, such as praise or condemnation, on moral decisions. We focus on the emotions triggered by this type of feedback and the link between those emotions and moral decisions. Our study relies on studying behavior in an experimental labor market, where participants make incentivized decisions that have a moral component. We find that managers set higher wages when they expect to receive feedback from workers. However, wages are lower if feedback is given publicly rather than privately. We also find that emotions play a significant role when translating feedback into decisions. Positive emotions resulting from good feedback lead to downward adjustments in wages. We suggest further research into differences between public and private feedback.

Keywords: appraisal theory, ethical feedback, labor market experiment, emotions, mediation analysis