Database from the study investigating allocation decisions toward an uninvolved next participant after fair or unfair treatment, with or without an opportunity for personal gain. The study examines whether participants who had previously been treated unfairly allocate fewer resources to the next participant not only when allocating less increases their own payoff, but also when allocating less provides no personal gain.
The database includes 424 complete observations. There are no missing values in the variables included in the public dataset. The following variables are included:
participant_id — anonymous participant identifier
gender — participant gender; 1 = female, 2 = male
age — participant age in years
group — experimental condition; 1 = fair/gain, 2 = unfair/gain, 3 = fair/no_gain, 4 = unfair/no_gain
fairness — fairness of the allocation received from the previous participant; 1 = fair, 2 = unfair
gain — whether the participant could personally benefit from allocating less to the next participant; 1 = gain, 2 = no_gain
allocation — amount allocated to the next participant; range: 0–100 Experimental Dollars
perceived_fairness — perceived fairness of the allocation received from the previous participant; 1–10 scale
anger — anger felt in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
frustration — frustration felt in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
happiness — happiness felt in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
sadness — sadness felt in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
wronged — feeling of being wronged in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
satisfaction — satisfaction felt in response to the received allocation; 1–10 scale
The study employed an online 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design. Participants first received a decision allegedly made by a previous participant, who divided 100 Experimental Dollars. In the fair condition, the previous participant allocated 50 Experimental Dollars to the current participant and kept 50. In the unfair condition, the previous participant allocated 20 Experimental Dollars to the current participant and kept 80. Participants then decided how many Experimental Dollars, from 0 to 100, the next participant would receive as a starting amount. In the gain condition, Experimental Dollars not allocated to the next participant were added to the participant’s own compensation. In the no_gain condition, the allocation decision did not affect the participant’s own compensation. After making the allocation decision, participants rated the perceived fairness of the allocation they had received and reported their emotional responses to it.
(2026)
