Table 1.
Choosers' partner preferences according to how the two dictators had split money in a previous game, and whether wealth was relatively stable or could change. Scenario represents the dictator decisions shown to the chooser. Rich dictators had an endowment of $2.50; poor dictators had $0.50. Fair decisions implied giving 50% of the endowment to the other worker; stingy decisions implied giving 20% to the other worker. Our primary comparison is #4 (rich-stingy versus poor-fair).
| scenario | wealth (n) | prefer rich (%) | prefer poor (%) | no preference (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. rich-fair versus poor-fair | stable (47) | 78.7 | 8.5 | 12.8 |
| change (48) | 33.3 | 20.8 | 45.8 | |
| 2. rich-stingy versus poor-stingy | stable (50) | 72.0 | 14.0 | 14.0 |
| change (49) | 28.6 | 24.5 | 46.9 | |
| 3. rich-fair versus poor-stingy | stable (49) | 89.8 | 2.04 | 8.16 |
| change (48) | 75.0 | 6.25 | 18.8 | |
| 4. rich-stingy versus poor-fair | stable (99) | 37.3 | 49.5 | 13.1 |
| change (99) | 12.1 | 73.7 | 14.1 |