The Context of Choice: Three Essays on the Malleability of Preferences, Cultural Norms, and Institutional Design

This dissertation explores how context—specifically social information, cultural norms, and institutional arrangements—shapes decision-making. The thesis comprises five chapters: an introduction, three main empirical studies, and a concluding outlook. Chapter 1 introduces the research background and outlines the motivation for the studies. The core analysis is presented in Chapters 2 through 4. Chapter 2 investigates the malleability of distributional preferences. Chapter 3 examines how normative signal mechanisms impact cooperation across different cultural backgrounds. Chapter 4 compares individual versus group intertemporal-risky decisions and analyzes how institutional rules, such as majority versus unanimity, mediate group outcomes. Finally, Chapter 5 provides an outlook on future possibilities and potential extensions of the thesis.