Grounded in inequality aversion theory and the situated focus theory of power, this study investigates how state power and inequality experiences interact to shape cooperative behavior, and used ERPs to explore the underlying cognitive-neural mechanisms. Forty-two participants (Mage = 19.57 years, SD = 1.31) were randomly assigned to high- or low-state power conditions through a role-playing manipulation. They then completed the Ultimatum Game (UG) or Dictator Game (DG) with three proposal types (disadvantageous inequality, equality, advantageous inequality) while ERPs were recorded, followed by the Public Goods Game (PGG) to assess subsequent cooperation. Results revealed that participants gave significantly lower fairness ratings to both advantageously and disadvantageously unfair offers than to fair offers. Critically, despite being rated as unfair, advantageous inequality proposals elicited the highest subsequent cooperation in the PGG, whereas disadvantageous proposals elicited the lowest. Neurophysiologically, disadvantageously unfair offers elicited more negative medial frontal negativity (MFN) amplitudes, whereas fair offers evoked more positive P300 amplitudes. In addition, state power significantly moderated perceptions of unfairness. Specifically, high power activated individuals’ self-interest and inequality aversion, resulting in higher MFN (more negative) and lower P300 amplitudes in response to inequality. Among individuals with low power, the effect of inequality aversion is weaker, and they are more willing to cooperate even in the presence of disadvantageous inequality. These findings demonstrate that cooperative behaviour is interactively shaped by state power and experiences of inequality, challenging monolithic theoretical views by revealing a complex interplay between equality concerns and self-interest.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.