How social context modulates the roles of fairness, reciprocity, and empathy on advantageous inequity aversion

This research examines whether experiencing disadvantageous inequity increases individuals' acceptance of advantageous inequity and how this tendency varies across hypothetical (Study 1) and real (Studies 2 and 3) monetary allocations. We further investigate the roles of fairness, reciprocity, and empathy, and whether these factors are shaped by the size of the monetary stake. Study 1 included 208 participants (M_age = 24.37, SD = 7.68), Study 2 included 269 participants (M_age = 22.43, SD = 2.85), and Study 3 included 152 participants (M_age = 22.43, SD = 2.85), with balanced group assignments across experimental and control conditions. In the real resource allocation studies (Studies 2 and 3), individuals were less likely to act fairly than in the hypothetical context (Study 1). However, the manipulation did not succeed; therefore, it remains unclear whether experiencing disadvantageous inequity led participants to avoid advantageous unfairness more or less. Instead, we found that when individuals were repeatedly exposed to disadvantageous inequity without being able to oppose it, they reported greater moral anger, but this did not affect their avoidance of advantageous inequity. Fairness, empathy, and reciprocity varied with the amount of money involved and predicted the rejection of advantageous inequity. Overall, the findings suggest that avoidance of taking more than others is influenced by both moral values (fairness, reciprocity, empathy) and contextual factors (prior exposure to unfairness and real vs. hypothetical settings). Thus, the rejection of advantageous inequity appears at the intersection of individual and contextual influences.