The Psychology of Restaurant Tipping
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Author
Lynn, Michael
Latané, Bibb
Abstract
Since its origins in 18th-century English pubs, tipping has become a custom involving numerous professions and billions of dollars. Knowledge of the psychological factors underlying tipping would benefit service workers, service managers, and customers alike. Two studies were conducted to provide such knowledge about restaurant tipping. The percent tipped in these studies was related to group size, the customer's gender, the method of payment (cash or credit), and in some cases, the size of the bill. Tipping was not related to service quality, waitperson's efforts, waitperson's gender, restaurant's atmosphere, or restaurant's food.
Date Issued
1984-01-01
Keywords
Rights
Required Publisher Statement: © Wiley. Final version published as: Lynn, M., & Latané, B. (1984). The psychology of restaurant tipping. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14(6), 549-561. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Type
article