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Reward perception, but not reward inequality is associated with increased bribe-taking in a laboratory task

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  • Bahník, Štěpán

    (University of Economics, Prague)

  • Vranka, Marek Albert

    (University of Economics)

Abstract

People are more likely to behave selfishly when such behavior is easier to justify. When one receives a lesser reward for the same performed task, the perceived unfairness of the reward may serve as a justification for subsequent selfish behavior. In the present study, we let participants to break rules in a sorting task in order to increase their rewards while simultaneously harming a third party, simulating a bribe-taking. Although we did not find evidence that manipulation of perceived reward inequality affects bribe-taking, people who perceived their reward more negatively behaved more selfishly and took more bribes, causing more harm to the charity.

Suggested Citation

  • Bahník, Štěpán & Vranka, Marek Albert, 2022. "Reward perception, but not reward inequality is associated with increased bribe-taking in a laboratory task," OSF Preprints n7atx, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:n7atx
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/n7atx
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