Lesson plan
Impunity game
The impunity game is a simple game in experimental economics, similar to the Dictator Game. The first player "the proposer" chooses between two possible divisions of some endowment (such as a cash prize): #The first choice will be a very unequal division, giving most of the endowment to themself, and sharing little with the second player (the partner or the "responder"). #The second choice is a more even division, giving a "fair" proportion of the initial pie to the responder, and keeping the rest for themself. The second and final move of the game is in the hands of the responder: he can accept or reject the amount offered. Unlike the ultimatum game, this has no effect on the proposer, who always keeps the share she originally awarded themself. This game has been studied less intensively than the other standards of experimental economics, but appears to produce the interesting result that proposers typically take the "least fair" option, keeping most of the reward for themselves, a conclusion sharply in contrast to that implied by the ultimatum or dictator games.
Article summary
The impunity game is a simple game in experimental economics, similar to the Dictator Game. The first player "the proposer" chooses between two possible divisions of some endowment (such as a cash prize): #The first choice will be a very unequal division, giving most of the endowment to themself, and sharing little with the second player (the partner or the "responder"). #The second choice is a more even division, giving a "fair" proportion of the initial pie to the responder, and keeping the rest for themself. The second and final move of the game is in the hands of the responder: he can accept or reject the amount offered. Unlike the ultimatum game, this has no effect on the proposer, who always keeps the share she originally awarded themself. This game has been studied less intensively than the other standards of experimental economics, but appears to produce the interesting result that proposers typically take the "least fair" option, keeping most of the reward for themselves, a conclusion sharply in contrast to that implied by the ultimatum or dictator games.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.