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Social rejection influences prosocial sharing decision-making in inequality contexts

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Abstract

Previous literature proposed that the fair distribution of resources between self and other is the basic societal norm in prosocial sharing decisions. This study explored how socially rejected individuals make prosocial sharing decisions in different inequality contexts using economic games and computational modeling. Seventy-four adults were exposed to either a social rejection or a neutral manipulation, and then completed computerized monetary incentive sharing decision-making tasks. Estimated prosocial decision parameters revealed that individuals without social rejection demonstrated typical asymmetrical patterns of sharing - preferring to share in advantageous equality rather than in disadvantageous inequality. Contrarily, individuals who experienced social rejection demonstrated symmetrical patterns with no difference in sharing between advantageous and disadvantageous inequality contexts. Socially rejected individuals were more likely to share when the perception of the rejection was harsher, and sharing experience did not elicit negative affect but reduced stress. The findings suggest that the experience of social rejection affects the pattern of sharing decision-making in inequality contexts. These outcomes may reflect psychosocial coping strategies for mitigating the negative impact of social rejection.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We truly appreciate Dr. Yosuke Morishima for sharing the game and estimation scripts, and valuable suggestions for the experiment design. We would like to thank all the participants in the study.

Code Availability

Not Applicable to the present study.

Funding

This research was supported by the University of Missouri Research Board grant to Oh-Ryeong Ha (PI) and Seung-Lark Lim (Co-I), and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Women’s Council Graduate Assistance Fund-Eleanor Hardy Award and Frances I. Bennett Porter Memorial Award to Haley Killian.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Haley J. Killian, Seung-Lark Lim & Oh-Ryeong Ha

  2. Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA

    Jared M. Bruce

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  1. Haley J. Killian
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  2. Seung-Lark Lim
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  4. Oh-Ryeong Ha
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Contributions

H. J. K, S.-L. L, and O.-R. H contributed to conceptualization of the study. H. J. K, S.-L. L, J.M.B and O.-R. H contributed to the design of the study. H. J. K and S.-L. L created the computer experiments, and S.-L. L performed validation. H. J. K performed data collection. H. J. K, and O.-R. H analyzed the data. H. J. K, S.-L. L, and O.-R. H drafted the original manuscript. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final version for submission.

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Correspondence to Oh-Ryeong Ha.

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This study was approved by the university’s Institutional Review Board. All participants were provided with the consent information.

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Not Applicable to the present study.

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The authors declared that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Killian, H.J., Lim, SL., Bruce, J.M. et al. Social rejection influences prosocial sharing decision-making in inequality contexts. Curr Psychol 42, 6372–6385 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01963-6

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