psychology & decision · new to this edition
the ultimatum game
someone offers you a share of ten pounds. you can take it, or burn the lot.
In 1982 Werner Güth and colleagues ran an experiment that has since been repeated in dozens of countries. One person, the proposer, is given a sum of money and offers part of it to a second person, the responder. If the responder accepts, they split it as proposed. If the responder rejects, both get nothing. A purely self-interested responder should accept any amount above zero, since something beats nothing. The stakes below are imaginary, but try to answer as you would if the money were real.
A stranger has been given £10 and told to split it with you. They have proposed keeping £8 and giving you £2. If you accept, you each get your share. If you reject, neither of you gets anything.
further reading
- an experimental analysis of ultimatum bargaining original paper
- in search of homo economicus: behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies original paper
- the neural basis of economic decision-making in the ultimatum game original paper
- ultimatum game wikipedia