Sensory impairment reduces money sharing in the Dictator Game regardless of the recipient’s sensory status

Abstract

Altruism varies as a function of minimal social cues. Sensory impaired individuals elicit more altruistic behaviors, at the same time being more prone to be exploited. We tested whether information about recipient's sensory impairment (blindness or deafness or no impairment) would increase of the amount of money given to the anonymous partner in the Dictator Game (DG). We manipulated information about sensory status of a fictional recipient by indicating their sensory impairment (the same as the participant) or not. Sample of DG players included blind (n = 99) and deaf (n = 74) individuals and their fully functional counterparts (n = 197). Age, socioeconomic status (SES), and education were controlled. We observed higher offers in the sighted and hearing subjects as compared to sensory impaired subjects, regardless of information about the recipient's sensory status.