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Framing the ultimatum game: gender differences and autonomic responses
Michela Sarlo1, Lorella Lotto, Daniela Palomba
1Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. michela.sarlo@unipd.it
Summary
Offer framing in the Ultimatum Game (UG) significantly impacts men's decisions and autonomic responses, but not women's. Framing influences physiological reactions, suggesting distinct processing of gains versus losses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- The Ultimatum Game (UG) is a key paradigm for studying decision-making under social and economic contexts.
- Understanding how framing affects economic choices and underlying physiological responses is crucial for behavioral science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of gain versus loss framing on behavioral and autonomic responses in the Ultimatum Game.
- To explore potential sex differences in responses to framed offers within the UG.
Main Methods:
- Participants played the UG with offers framed as "I give you" (gain) or "I take" (loss).
- Behavioral data (acceptance rates) and physiological data (skin conductance, heart rate) were recorded.
- Offers varied in fairness: unfair, mid-value, and fair.
Main Results:
- Men exhibited higher acceptance rates under gain frames and preferred gain over loss frames for mid-value offers.
- Women's acceptance rates were unaffected by framing.
- Men displayed distinct autonomic patterns: loss frames triggered defensive responses (increased skin conductance and heart rate), while gain frames induced orienting responses (increased skin conductance, decelerated heart rate).
- Women's autonomic reactivity remained consistent across frames.
Conclusions:
- Framing significantly influences men's decision-making and autonomic responses in the UG, differentiating between gain and loss contexts.
- Autonomic responses in men suggest distinct physiological mechanisms underlying reactions to perceived gains versus losses.
- Women's choices and autonomic responses were less sensitive to framing, indicating potential sex-based differences in processing economic decisions.
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