Future Fairness Concerns: Influences on Punishment and Compensation Strategies in Fairness Maintenance

Punishment and compensation serve as two methods to maintain fairness. A key distinction between them is that punishment can decrease the likelihood of future unfair events through deterrence, whereas compensation cannot. This suggests that concerns about future fairness may influence the choice between punishment and compensation when addressing an unfair situation. Our study examines how concerns about future fairness affect strategies for maintaining fairness by manipulating game frequency and deterrence conditions. We find that in public settings, where the actions for maintaining fairness are visible to others, an increase in game frequency and proximity to the beginning of the game lead to more frequent use of punishment. However, under confidential conditions, where such actions remain private, neither game frequency nor the stage of the game influences the likelihood of punishment. In contrast, compensation is unaffected by game frequency and game stage,regardless of whether the condition is public or confidential. These findings show that a focus on future fairness promotes the use of punishment, but does not affect compensation. This discovery provides valuable insights into the differences between these two methods and the development of people's strategies for maintaining fairness.