Abstract
Previous studies have shown that task-unrelated emotions induced incidentally exert carryover effects on individuals’ subsequent decisions in financial negotiations. However, the specificity of these emotion effects are not clear. In three experiments, we systematically investigated the role of seven transiently induced basic emotions (disgust, sadness, anger, fear, happiness, surprise and neutral) on rejection of unfair offers using the ultimatum game. We found that all negative emotions (disgust, sadness, anger and fear), but not happiness or surprise, significantly increased rejection rates, suggesting that the effect of incidental negative emotions on fairness is not specific to the type of negative emotion. Our findings highlight the role of fleeting emotions in biasing decision-making processes and suggest that all incidental negative emotions exert similar effects on fairness sensitivity, possibly by potentiating attention towards negative aspects of the situation.
Highlights
Previous studies have shown that task-unrelated emotions induced incidentally exert carryover effects on individuals’ subsequent decisions in financial negotiations
It is undeniable that people are often bombarded by incidental emotions that are not relevant to their current goals when making decisions
In three experiments, compared with the neutral condition, we found that induced negative basic emotions all increased the rejection rate of unfair offers in a similar pattern, whereas induced happiness and surprise had no effect compared with the neutral condition
Summary
Previous studies have shown that task-unrelated emotions induced incidentally exert carryover effects on individuals’ subsequent decisions in financial negotiations. We systematically investigated the role of seven transiently induced basic emotions (disgust, sadness, anger, fear, happiness, surprise and neutral) on rejection of unfair offers using the ultimatum game. Research with the ultimatum game shows that responders commonly accept offers of 50%, whereas lower offers are increasingly rejected as an act of social punishment[9] Such rejection is significantly related to negative emotions (task-related integral emotion) induced by unfair offers, especially that of disgust and anger[10,11]. Focusing on the domain of social rejection, previous research of carryover effect of incidental emotions in the ultimatum game mainly focused on two specific negative emotions – sadness and disgust. The role of specific negative emotion on fairness sensitivity remains unclear
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
