BEQ2010 Dave Eric Madan
This article (De Cremer, van Dijk, & Pillutla) examines when recipients of unfair offers in ultimatum games seek social accounts (explanations) and when such accounts (apology vs. denial) affect trust. Two lab experiments manipulate whether recipients are certain or uncertain about the allocator’s knowledge of payoffs and test (1) desire for social information and (2) how apologies versus denials influence trust. Key findings: uncertainty about the allocator’s knowledge increases desire for social accounts (Experiment 1); denials reduce perceived trustworthiness relative to apologies, but this effect emerges primarily under uncertainty (Experiment 2).
Questions this document answers
"Explaining Unfair Offers in Ultimatum Games and their Effects on Trust" by David De Cremer, Eric van Dijk, and Madan M. Pillutla.
125 undergraduates (93 women, 32 men), mean age = 19.57 years, SD = 1.74.
130 undergraduates (108 women, 22 men), mean age = 19.24 years, SD = 3.24.
Three levels: other knows the exact value, other does not know the exact value, and uncertainty whether the other knew the exact value.
Two levels: Apology ("I'm sorry... I will try to do better next time.") vs. Denial ("I do not feel responsible... I deny bad intentions").