Department of Microeconomics and Public Economics, School of Business and Economics, Maastricht University, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Maastricht University-Center of Neuroeconomics, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 6;12(1):11428. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15613-9.
Power imbalance often leads to unequal allocations. However, it remains largely unknown how different forms of power and meritocratic considerations interact to shape fairness perceptions. Using modified Ultimatum Games, we examined how two power forms-decision power and availability of attractive outside option-affect bargaining behavior and fairness perceptions, and how meritocratic considerations are incorporated into the fairness perceptions of powerful and powerless individuals. We identified an asymmetric power effect: having increased decision power or attractive outside options independently increased self-advantageous allocations and self-serving fairness perceptions, whereas the combined lack of both power forms led to self-disadvantageous allocations but had no influence on fairness perceptions. The power effect on fairness perceptions became symmetric when power was obtained through a meritocratic process (procedural justice). In contrast, relative contributions to resource production (distributive justice) did not moderate power effects. We provide causal evidence that the powerful, but not the powerless, strive to minimize cognitive dissonance between behavior and fairness perceptions by interpreting fairness in self-serving ways. This study contributes novel insights into the interplay between different power forms, the asymmetry of power effects, the moderating role of procedural justice, and the mediating role of behavior in the power-driven adjustment of fairness perceptions.
权力失衡常常导致资源分配不均。然而，权力的不同形式和精英主义考虑因素如何相互作用以影响公平感知，在很大程度上仍不清楚。我们使用改良的最后通牒博弈，研究了两种权力形式——决策权和有吸引力的外部选择机会——如何影响谈判行为和公平感知，以及精英主义考虑因素如何被纳入有权势和无权势个体的公平感知中。我们发现了一种非对称的权力效应：独立地增加决策权或有吸引力的外部选择机会会增加自我有利的分配和自我服务的公平感知，而缺乏这两种权力形式的结合则会导致自我不利的分配，但对公平感知没有影响。当权力是通过精英主义过程（程序正义）获得时，权力对公平感知的影响变得对称。相比之下，资源生产的相对贡献（分配正义）并没有调节权力效应。我们提供了因果证据，表明强者而非弱者通过以自我服务的方式解释公平，努力将行为和公平感知之间的认知失调最小化。这项研究为不同权力形式之间的相互作用、权力效应的非对称性、程序正义的调节作用以及行为在权力驱动的公平感知调整中的中介作用提供了新的见解。
