This paper experimentally examines the effect of social comparisons in ultimatum bargaining. While previous experiments and the theoretical models on fairness focus on the two bargaining counterparts, we address a new reference group - others in like circumstances. We inform responders on how...

Experiments are used to examine the effects of social comparisons in ultimatum bargaining. We inform responders about the average offer before they decide whether to accept or reject their specific offer. This significantly increases offers and offer-specific rejection probabilities. For...