May 10, Kimberly Wade-Benzoni, Ph.D. – The Egoism and Altruism of Intergenerational Behavior

Abstract: Some of the most important issues in society today affect more than one generation of people. In this article, the authors offer a conceptual overview and integration of the research on intergenerational dilemmas—decisions that entail a tradeoff between one’s own self-interest in the present and the interests of other people in the future. Intergenerational decisions are characterized by a combination of intertemporal (i.e., behaviors that affect the future) and interpersonal (i.e., behaviors that affect other people) components. Research on intergenerational dilemmas identifies factors that emerge from these dimensions and how they interact with each other to influence intergenerational beneficence. Critically, phenomena that result from the intersection of these two dimensions—such as immortality striving through legacy creation—are especially important in distinguishing intergenerational decisions from other related decision contexts. Dr. Kimberly Wade-Benzoni, a guest of the IFREE/ESI Lecture Series

Bio: Kimberly Wade-Benzoni is an Associate Professor of Business Administration and Center of Leadership and Ethics Scholar at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Professor Wade-Benzoni, who is an internationally recognized leading scholar in the area of intergenerational decision making, has received numerous competitive awards for her research from organizations such as the International Association for Conflict Management, State Farm Companies Foundation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Science Foundation. She is co-editor of the book, Environment, Ethics, and Behavior: The Psychology of Environmental Valuation and Degradation and co-editor of a special issue of American Behavioral Scientist on environmental issues.

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