Fairness is in the Brain

Economists from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) and researchers from the University of Bergen (UiB) have worked together to assess the relationship between fairness, equality, work and money. The research team from the two institutions looked at the striatum, or the reward center of the brain to measure reactions to questions related to fairness, equality, work and money. During the study, the participants, 47 male volunteers, were asked to perform simple office work for either 30, 60 or 90 minutes. Participants were then matched in pairs so that a participant who had worked for 30 minutes was paired with someone who had worked for 90 minutes, and a participant who had worked for 60 minutes was paired with someone who had also worked for 60 minutes. They were then asked to rate the distribution of pay on a scale. The researchers then looked at how the striatum responded in relation to income distribution for amount of time the participants worked. “The brain appreciates both own reward and fairness. Both influence activation of the striatum,” says one of the study’s researchers. “This may explain why a lot of people are willing to sacrifice monetary rewards when this results in a fairer balance.”  The study, conducted solely among men, was meant to record the differences between a similar group of people. Researchers believe the study would yield similar results in a group of women. Previous studies have shown that there is no statistical difference between how the brains of women and men process fairness and inequality.To read more about this study, click here.