Appeasing envy and relieving guit: When inequality does not hurt

Last registered on September 08, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Appeasing envy and relieving guit: When inequality does not hurt
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016344
Initial registration date
September 04, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
September 08, 2025, 7:45 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Germany
Region
Hamburg

Primary Investigator

Name
Riccardo Vannozzi
Affiliation
Universität Hamburg
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-10-01
End date
2025-12-01
Keywords
Behavior, Lab
Additional Keywords
Inequality, Inequality aversion, social comparison
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
I explore how social comparison influences other-regarding preferences. Drawing on insights from social psychology, I hypothesize that, when richer people are present, individuals behave less prosocially towards those who are poorer than themselves. Additionally, I hypothesize that, when poorer people are present, individuals behave less antisocially towards those who are richer than themselves.

I address these questions in two separate online experiments. In Study 1, I explore whether individuals’ prosociality towards someone poorer is influenced by the presence of someone richer than themselves. In a between-subjects design, participants are randomly matched with another subject whose endowment is either higher or equal to their own. Then, I measure their altruism toward a third subject who is endowed with a lower amount. In Study 2, I explore whether individuals’ antisocial behavior towards someone richer is influenced by the presence of someone poorer than themselves. Accordingly, I randomly match participants with subjects whose endowment is either lower or equal to their own. I then measure their spite towards a third subject who is endowed with a higher amount. In both studies, I also elicit measures of social preferences used for manipulation checks.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Vannozzi, Riccardo. 2025. "Appeasing envy and relieving guit: When inequality does not hurt." AEA RCT Registry. September 08. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16344-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Random allocation of subjects to treatment groups via online experiment.

Study 1:
-Control group ("NoRich"): Participants are matched with another person who has the same endowment.
-Treatment group ("Rich"): Participants are matched with another person who has a higher endowment.
In both conditions, participants are also matched with a third person who has a lower endowment.

Study 2:
-Control group ("NoPoor"): Participants are matched with another person who has the same endowment.
-Treatment group ("Poor"): Participants are matched with another person who has a lower endowment.
In both conditions, participants are also matched with a third person who has a higher endowment.
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2025-10-01
Intervention End Date
2025-12-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Study 1:
Prosocial behavior towards the low-endowment subject.

Study 2:
Antisocial behavior towards the high-endowment subject.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Study 1:
Prosocial behavior is measured using a real-effort task with prosocial incentives. Participants can increase the compensation of the low-endowment subject by scoring points in the slider task.

Study 2:
Antisocial behavior is measured using the same real-effort task as in Study 1. In this case, spite is revealed through the withholding of help: participants can prevent a loss of earnings for the high-endowment subject by scoring points in the slider task.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Study 1 explores whether individuals’ prosociality towards someone poorer is influenced by the presence of someone richer than themselves. Accordingly, participants are endowed with €5 and matched with two other subjects, who are passive bystanders and take no actions in the study. Participants are matched with someone with a lower endowment (€0.10) and, in a between-subjects design, with someone who has an endowment that is either higher (€10) or equal (€5) to their own. Then, I measure participants’ prosocial behaviour towards the low-endowment subject with a real-effort task with prosocial incentives (the slider task). By scoring points in the slider task, participants increase the compensation of the low-endowment subject. I identify the treatment effect by comparing the number of sliders solved in the control (NoRich) vs. treatment (Rich) condition.

Study 2 explores whether individuals’ antisocial behavior towards someone richer is influenced by the presence of someone poorer than themselves. Participants are again endowed with €5 and matched with someone with a higher endowment (€10). In a between-subjects design, they are also matched with someone whose endowment is either lower (€0.10) or equal to their own (€5). I measure participants’ antisocial behavior towards the high-endowment subjects with the same real-effort task from Study 1. In this case, spite is revealed not through active harm, but through the withholding of help. That is, the high-endowment subject might lose a portion of her initial endowment, and participants can gradually restore it by scoring points in the slider task. I identify the treatment effect by comparing the number of sliders that participants chose not to solve in the control (NoPoor) vs. treatment (Poor) condition.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done by a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individuals
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
160 individual observations in each study.
Sample size: planned number of observations
160 individual observations in each study.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
80 individual observations per treatment in both studies.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the Universität Hamburg
IRB Approval Date
2025-07-29
IRB Approval Number
2025-044 FL
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials