How identity, privacy, and social distance influence online collaborations

This pre-registration adds a new independent variable in building an understanding of how privacy and norms influence collaborations online. Social identity is a key driver of online behavior, where people usually form connections and communities based on their shared social identities. However, the salience of social identity in fostering normative behavior could vary based on the contextual and technological differences between different online platforms. On social media, network and privacy cues are important technological factors that determine adherence to normative behavior. This study will test whether social media users are more likely to cross-collaborate with out-group members within ultimatum game bargaining interactions when the others are less socially distant, and when their actions are not made public. Participants will consider the same monetary split from out-group proposers under varying conditions of privacy and social distancing. Accepting an offer yields the proposed payout; rejecting it causes each player to earn nothing. This study will be conducted through an online survey on a panel of Twitter users in the Indian context and replicated for a panel in the United States. The main dependent variable is: participants' acceptance or refusal of offers to collaborate with out-group members. The experiment would manipulate the social distance cues on their Twitter profile ranging from around 50 mutual friends (socially close) to no mutual friends (socially distant. The experiment will also manipulate the level of privacy afforded to the announcement of their decision broadcast to the general public (no privacy) or to no one at all (full privacy). It thus deleted one of the privacy conditions as compared to the original pre-registration.