Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2025
08:24
The Joint Effect of Social Comparison and Social Distance on Evaluation of Intertemporal Choice Outcomes in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: August 25, 2023
816
The Effect of Task Difficulty and Self-Contribution on Fairness Consideration: An Event-Related Potential Study
Liyan Xu1, Biye Wang1,2, Wei Guo1,2
1College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Self-contribution impacts fairness perceptions and decisions. Unfair offers were more accepted when only others contributed, influencing cooperative behavior and neurophysiological responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Self-contribution is a key factor in fairness considerations and behavioral decisions.
- Limited research exists on the combined influence of task difficulty and self-contribution on fairness perceptions and neurophysiological responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how task difficulty and self-contribution modulate fairness considerations.
- To examine the neurophysiological correlates of fairness evaluation under varying contribution and difficulty levels.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a modified ultimatum game (UG) with 30 participants undergoing event-related potential (ERP) measurements.
- Employed a 2x3x2 within-subject design manipulating task difficulty, contribution type (self, other, both), and fairness type (fair, unfair).
Main Results:
- Behavioral data revealed a significant interaction: unfair offers were more accepted in the 'other-contribution' condition compared to 'self-' or 'both-contribution' conditions.
- Neurophysiological findings showed greater feedback-related negativity (FRN) in the hard task difficulty condition.
- P300 responses were larger when participants equally contributed compared to self- or other-contribution scenarios.
Conclusions:
- Individuals' fairness judgments and decisions in cooperative contexts are significantly influenced by their own effort contributions relative to others.
- Task difficulty can impact early stages of information processing related to feedback.
- Equal contributions may elicit distinct neural processing related to fairness evaluation.
More Related Videos
05:22Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
Published on: May 9, 2019
5.5K
10:38A Cognitive Paradigm to Investigate Interference in Working Memory by Distractions and Interruptions
Published on: July 16, 2015
13.7K
Related Concept Videos
01:14Fundamental Attribution Error
13.3K
According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is...
13.3K
01:29Self-Serving Bias
9
Self-serving bias is a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals attribute positive outcomes to internal factors such as their abilities, intelligence, or effort while attributing negative outcomes to external circumstances. This cognitive distortion helps maintain self-esteem but can also impede objective self-assessment.Theoretical Explanations of Self-Serving BiasTwo primary theories explain the self-serving bias: the cognitive explanation and the motivational explanation.The cognitive...
9
01:25Self-Regulation
11
Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
11
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
40.9K
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about...
40.9K
01:17Correspondence Bias
13
Correspondence bias, also referred to as the fundamental attribution error, describes the tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to internal characteristics rather than situational influences. This cognitive bias leads individuals to overlook external factors that may be influencing actions, thereby fostering potentially inaccurate assessments of others’ intentions and dispositions.Empirical Evidence for Correspondence BiasResearch has consistently demonstrated the...
13
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
18.5K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
18.5K