University of Zurich Researchers find conflicting motives influence perception of fairness

The University of Zurich conducted a study to investigate the intricate factors that shape our sense of fairness and the distribution of resources. The research reveals that individuals possess an aversion to inequality but also harbor a reluctance to harm others and disrupt existing social hierarchies. By utilizing functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRT), the study analyzed brain activity during a redistribution task, uncovering distinct brain regions associated with considerations of inequality and harm. These findings shed light on the complex interplay between conflicting motives and provide valuable insights into the ongoing debates surrounding distributive justice.

The perception of fairness and the distribution of resources have long been subjects of contention, leading to social conflicts.

The recent study by the University of Zurich aims to delve into the motives that shape our sense of justice when it comes to resource allocation. Researchers, led by Jie Hu and Christian Ruff, conducted an experiment using fMRT to investigate how aversion to inequality and reluctance to harm others influence decision-making.

Participants were presented with scenarios involving two individuals with unequal amounts of money and given options to reduce the inequality.

The results showed that participants were generally willing to make others financially worse off if it led to a reduction in inequality, particularly when the initial disparity was substantial. However, there was a limit to this willingness, as participants avoided choosing a redistribution option that would make the initially advantaged person worse off than the other, even if it resulted in greater overall equality. Lead author Jie Hu explains this reluctance as a strong aversion to severe cases of harm.

Examining the brain activity of participants during the redistribution task revealed valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms.

The researchers discovered that considerations of inequality were associated with activity in the brain's striatum area, while thoughts regarding the harm caused by a specific distribution were linked to the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Interestingly, participants who were more reluctant to harm others exhibited more closely coordinated activity between these two brain regions. Co-author Christian Ruff suggests that the regions activated by harm considerations may influence or weaken the activity related to inequality in the striatum, but further research is needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Understanding how conflicting motives influence our preferences and behavior is crucial in the ongoing discourse surrounding redistribution.

These findings have real-world implications, such as the acceptance of higher taxation on the super-rich in societies with high levels of inequality versus egalitarian societies where it may impact the existing status hierarchy. Lead author Jie Hu emphasized the relevance of such studies in shaping policies and decision-making processes that strive for a fairer distribution of resources.