Publication:
Making Up People : The Effect of Identity on Preferences and Performance in a Modernizing Society

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dc.contributor.authorHoff, Karla
dc.contributor.authorPandey, Priyanka
dc.date.accessioned2013-01-03T18:26:46Z
dc.date.available2013-01-03T18:26:46Z
dc.date.issued2012-10
dc.description.abstractIt is typically assumed that being hard-working or clever is a trait of the person, in the sense that it is always there, in a fixed manner. However, in an experiment with almost 600 boys in India, cues to one's place in the traditional caste order turn out to influence the expression of these traits. The experiment assigned students to different treatments with respect to the salience of caste and had them solve mazes under incentives. It turned out that making caste salient can reduce output by about 25 percent, which is equivalent to twice the effect on output of being one year younger. The channels through which this occurs differ by caste status. For the upper castes, the decline in performance under piece rates can only be explained by a shift in preferences regarding the provision of effort. When the ascriptive caste order is cued, upper-caste individuals may think, "I don't need to excel." In contrast, for the lower castes, which were traditionally "untouchables," publicly revealing caste identity impairs the ability to learn and may lead individuals to think, "I can't (or don't dare to) excel." This paper provides a measure of the impact that ascriptive, hierarchized identities can have on preferences and performance after a society -- in its public pronouncements and legislation -- has adopted norms of equality in a formal sense. The findings are important because they suggest that when contexts cue identities founded on the superseded rules of a hierarchical institution, the effects on human capital formation and development can be first-order. Contexts that make traditional identities salient are an underemphasized source of impediments to institutional change.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/10/16816808/making-up-people-effect-identity-preferences-performance-modernizing-society
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-6223
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/12068
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; No. 6223
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectACHIEVEMENT
dc.subjectAMBITION
dc.subjectANALOGY
dc.subjectANTHROPOLOGY
dc.subjectAPTITUDE TESTS
dc.subjectARGUMENTS
dc.subjectASIAN-AMERICAN
dc.subjectASIAN-AMERICANS
dc.subjectATROCITIES
dc.subjectATTENTION
dc.subjectBELIEF SYSTEMS
dc.subjectBELIEFS
dc.subjectBLACK
dc.subjectBOUNDARIES
dc.subjectBOUNDARY
dc.subjectBRAIN
dc.subjectCASTE SYSTEM
dc.subjectCASTES
dc.subjectCHILDHOOD
dc.subjectCOGNITION
dc.subjectCOGNITIVE PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectCOGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
dc.subjectCOMPETITORS
dc.subjectCONFORMITY
dc.subjectCONSCIOUSNESS
dc.subjectCREATION
dc.subjectDATA COLLECTION
dc.subjectDISCRIMINATION
dc.subjectDISCUSSION
dc.subjectDISCUSSIONS
dc.subjectDOMAINS
dc.subjectDOMINANT GROUP
dc.subjectDRAWING
dc.subjectEARLY CHILDHOOD
dc.subjectECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION
dc.subjectECONOMIC INQUIRY
dc.subjectEMOTIONS
dc.subjectEQUALITY
dc.subjectESSAY
dc.subjectETIQUETTE
dc.subjectFEELINGS
dc.subjectGENDER
dc.subjectGENDER DIFFERENCES
dc.subjectGROUP MEMBERSHIP
dc.subjectHUMAN CAPITAL
dc.subjectIDEA
dc.subjectIDEAS
dc.subjectIDENTITIES
dc.subjectIDENTITY
dc.subjectIMMIGRANTS
dc.subjectINDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS
dc.subjectINDIVIDUALITY
dc.subjectINHIBITION
dc.subjectINTELLIGENCE
dc.subjectLEARNING
dc.subjectLIFE CHANCES
dc.subjectLITERATURE
dc.subjectLOVE
dc.subjectMOBILITY
dc.subjectNORMS
dc.subjectPARENTS
dc.subjectPERSONALITY
dc.subjectPLAYS
dc.subjectPOPULAR CULTURE
dc.subjectPOWER
dc.subjectPREJUDICE
dc.subjectPRIMING
dc.subjectPRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectPSYCHOLOGY
dc.subjectPUBLIC SERVICES
dc.subjectRACE
dc.subjectRECALL
dc.subjectRITUALS
dc.subjectSCRIPT
dc.subjectSEGREGATION
dc.subjectSELF-CONCEPT
dc.subjectSELF-CONFIDENCE
dc.subjectSOCIAL CATEGORIES
dc.subjectSOCIAL CATEGORY
dc.subjectSOCIAL CHANGE
dc.subjectSOCIAL CLASS
dc.subjectSOCIAL GROUP
dc.subjectSOCIAL IDENTITIES
dc.subjectSOCIAL IDENTITY
dc.subjectSOCIAL ORDER
dc.subjectSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
dc.subjectSOCIAL SCIENCES
dc.subjectSOCIETIES
dc.subjectSOCIOLOGY
dc.subjectSYMBOLS
dc.subjectTELEVISION
dc.subjectTRAITS
dc.subjectVIOLENCE
dc.subjectWORKING MEMORY
dc.titleMaking Up People : The Effect of Identity on Preferences and Performance in a Modernizing Societyen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionareaGender
okr.crosscuttingsolutionareaFragility, Conflict, and Violence
okr.crossref.titleMaking up People- The Effect of Identity on Preferences and Performance in a Modernizing Society
okr.date.disclosure2012-10-01
okr.date.doiregistration2025-04-10T09:29:34.597130Z
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2012/10/16816808/making-up-people-effect-identity-preferences-performance-modernizing-society
okr.globalpracticeSocial, Urban, Rural and Resilience
okr.globalpracticeEducation
okr.guid228741468269090091
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-6223
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000158349_20121010144013
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum16816808
okr.identifier.reportWPS6223
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/10/10/000158349_20121010144013/Rendered/PDF/wps6223.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeSouth Asia
okr.region.countryIndia
okr.sectorMicrofinance
okr.sectorFinance
okr.themeHuman development :: Other human development
okr.themeSocial dev/gender/inclusion :: Participation and civic engagement
okr.themeSocial dev/gender/inclusion :: Gender
okr.topicEducation::Educational Sciences
okr.topicGender::Gender and Social Development
okr.topicEducation::Knowledge for Development
okr.topicArts and Music
okr.topicSocial Development::Race in Society
okr.topicCulture and Development
okr.volume1 of 1
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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