Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42209640›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Contextual effects of monetary incentives on acceptance of unfair offers in the ultimatum game.

Peipei Jin, Qian Chang, Chengxi Ding, Jinying Ouyang, Yinuo Xu, Zhuoyu Li, Wuji Lin, Ruixiang Gao, Lei Mo

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Peipei Jin *Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
Qian Chang *School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Chengxi DingDepartment of Psychology, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA.
Jinying OuyangCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
Yinuo XuCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
Zhuoyu LiCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
Wuji LinCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
Ruixiang GaoCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China. ruixianggao@m.scnu.edu.cn.
Lei MoCenter for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China. molei@m.scnu.edu.cn.

Funding

the Major Project of the National Social Science Foundation of China (19ZDA360)the Project of Key Institute of Humanities and Social Science, MOE of China (16JJD880025)
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Responders in the Ultimatum Game (UG) often reject unfair offers, yet previous studies remain inconsistent about when monetary incentives attenuate such rejections. To clarify this issue, we conducted four complementary experiments focusing on responders' acceptance decisions while varying incentive realism, gain range, task structure, and participant background. Experiment 1 used a hypothetical one-shot questionnaire and did not support the predicted interaction pattern. Experiment 2 introduced real monetary incentives and revealed main effects of fairness and responder gain, but still no interaction. Experiment 3 substantially expanded the gain range in a repeated virtual UG and showed that gain-related increases in acceptance were stronger under lower-fairness offers than under higher-fairness offers. Experiment 4, conducted under a fixed very unfair offer and real monetary rewards, showed that gain-related changes in acceptance were markedly steeper among college students than among working adults. Across studies, gain-related acceptance patterns depended on task context, gain range, and participant background. These findings suggest that fairness concerns and monetary incentives jointly shape UG acceptance, and that high gains can attenuate unfairness-based rejection under some conditions.

Indexed as

Decision MakingMotivationRewardAdultFemaleGames, ExperimentalHumansMaleSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultAcceptance behaviorFairnessMonetary incentivesResponder gainUltimatum game

Identifiers

PMID42209640
PMCPMC13451261

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.