Vengeance

I caught an interesting article about vengeance today where they mentioned an interesting experiment called the ultimatum game. Here is what wikipedia had to say about it

The ultimatum game is an experimental economics game in which two players interact to decide how to divide a sum of money that is given to them. The first player proposes how to divide the sum between themselves, and the second player can either accept or reject this proposal. If the second player rejects, neither player receives anything. If the second player accepts, the money is split according to the proposal. The game is played only once, and anonymously, so that reciprocation is not an issue.

I’ve really got to wonder what would happen if I were to play this game with people that I know. Imagine if I came up to you and told you I had $10,000. I offered to give you $50 with you having that knowledge that we’ve got to agree on the amount or we both get nothing. I wonder how many people would turn me down because they felt that the offer was unfair.

Economists found that the outcome of this game changes based upon with the background of those who play it. People from poorer, and less educated, backgrounds would be more likely to reject any offer believing that they deserved more. Feel free to check out the article at the NY Times.

So – let me put it to you – my two readers. If I offered you $50, while I kept $9950, would you take it or would you reject the offer entirely and walk away with nothing?