Are individuals more generous in loss contexts?

Abstract

This paper reports the results of dictator experiments in which the context is varied between a loss and gain frame. In some treatments, individuals have the possibility to sort and self-select the frame they prefer. We demonstrate that higher shares are transferred to the recipient in the loss frame compared to the gain frame when the situation occurs naturally, while the opposite result holds when the participants provoke themselves the situation. Our main result can be attributed primarily to a gender effect, i.e. female participants acting more generously in loss frames.