Opinion on reward allocation and its effect on interpersonal attraction

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examin the reactions (favorable or unfavorable) of the subjects toward another who expressed an opinion favoring either equal or equitable reward allocation for work performed in a hypothetical situation. There were 88 subjects in Exp. 1 and 60 in Exp. 2. In both experiments, the subjects were asked their reactions toward another who expressed an opinion on reward allocation. The results suggest that when a person expressed an opinion about a reward which would accrue to himself, the reactions of the subjects toward him depended upon the degree to which he agreed to sacrifice his own gain. When the opinion was unrelated to his own reward, the person who supported equal allocation was liked but who supported equitable allocation was disliked. Whether the opinion about allocation was similar to that of the subjects had no effect on their reactions toward that person expressing the opinion. © 1984, The Japanese Psychological Association. All rights reserved.