Reciprocity and emotions in bargaining using physiological and self-report measures

• DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2007.02.005
• Publication Date: 2007-03-28T07:17:53Z
• Authors: Gershon Ben-Shakhar; Gary Bornstein; Astrid Hopfensitz; Frans van Winden
• Keywords: Reciprocity; Strong reciprocity

Although reciprocity is a key concept in the social sciences, it is still unclear why people engage in costly reciprocation. In this study, physiological and self-report measures were employed to investigate the role of emotions, using the Power-to-Take Game. In this two-person game, player 1 can claim any part of player 2’s resources, and player 2 can react by destroying some (or all) of these resources thus preventing their transfer to player 1. Both physiological and self-report measures were related to destruction decisions. The observed pattern of emotional arousal and its correlation with self-reported anger provides support for using both techniques to study reciprocity.