Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009;30(5):643-6.

Salivary alpha-amylase levels and rejection of unfair offers in the ultimatum game

Affiliations
  • PMID: 20035253

Salivary alpha-amylase levels and rejection of unfair offers in the ultimatum game

Haruto Takagishi et al. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2009.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the role of emotions in rejection of unfair offers in an ultimatum game, which is of interest in neuroeconomics of fairness.

Methods: Thirty-seven participants played a one-shot ultimatum game as responders and decided whether to accept or reject the unfair offers by the proposers. Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) was assessed before and after the ultimatum game.

Results: Forty-four percent of the participants rejected the unfair offers. While sAA levels of the participants who rejected the unfair offers increased between pre- and post-experiment, sAA levels of the participants who accepted the unfair offers remain unchanged.

Conclusions: Emotional stress response was observed when participants rejected the unfair offers. Our results indicated that rejection of the unfair offers is a reflection of emotional arousal associated with adrenergic activations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

Substances