Abstract
This study aimed to explore whether individuals who had been inequitably treated in one relationship will redress inequity in a different relationship. An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of two internal factors on reward allocation in a trans-relational exchange situation. One was the Helping Norm, pertaining to prosocial behavior, and the other was Belief in a Just World (BJW), which was expected to buffer against anger. A total of 161 undergraduates participated in the experiment for two trials. In the first session, each participant was assigned to one of 3 conditions: over-rewarded, equitably rewarded, or under-rewarded, relative to their partners. In the second session, they could distribute the rewards between themselves and their partners. The results were consistent with the Equity with the World (EwW) hypothesis, although reward allocation was affected by internal factors. In the under-rewarded condition, the participants who scored high on the helping norm allocated rewards more equitably. An analysis of their emotions showed two possible processes as to why the participants allocated rewards equitably: those high in BJW were less likely to experience negative emotions from previous inequities, while those high in the helping norm felt a more positive emotion, which motivated them to allocate rewards equitably. These findings indicate not all people conform to the EwW.
