Fig. 1: Example trial sequence.
From: Learning reduces ingroup bias more with perceived losses than gains across cultures
At the beginning of each trial, the Western (Study 1) or East Asian (Study 2) participants rated their closeness toward the ingroup and outgroup on separate rating scales that were presented in randomized order. To do so, they moved a manikin representing themselves toward or away from an ingroup and an outgroup “room”, denoted as rooms “A” and “B” in counterbalanced order. The next screen revealed the room in which the ostensible other player in this round was sitting (i.e., the ingroup or the outgroup room). Participants then indicated their expectancy of receiving 5 MU (vs. 0 MU, Gain frame, panel a) or losing 5 MU (vs. 10 MU, Loss frame, panel b) to the other person in the current trial using a 10-step rating scale. In the Gain frame, participants received no initial endowment, and the other player could choose to give zero or five MU. In the Loss frame, participants received an initial endowment of ten MU, and the other player could choose to take ten or five MU away from the participant. The two frames were mathematically equivalent, i.e., they yielded identical final payoff states to the participant and the other person. MU refers to CHF in Study 1 and RMB in Study 2, representing the local currency.
