Is a Player’s Role in Status Determination Important? A Cross-Cultural Study of the Impact of Own and Others’ Actions on Ultimatum Game Decisions

Abstract

Economic theory suggests that individuals base their behavior in economic games on both payoff and fairness considerations. Cox et al. (2007) propose that fairness is a function of relative status. I propose that players consider not their relative status, but rather how that relative status is determined. Specifically, I test the difference between when that status is determined by the individuals and when it is determined by others. Additionally, I believe that by varying status determination I can test the relative importance of individual determination (self-reliance) and other determination (other-reliance). Apart from the inconclusive findings for responder behavior in one treatment, the results from the experiment I conduct in the United States support my theory that the role that the individual and others have in the determination of roles in the ultimatum game impacts what are perceived as reasonable and fair offers. The next step of my research is to test my predictions about the impact of cultural norms on the relative importance of other- and self-reliance by conducting the same experiment in Bolivia.