Investigating the Causal Effects of Anger on Costly Third-Party Punishment

Anger is assumed to fuel costly punishment of unjust acts, even when one is not personally affected. Yet, its causal role in third-party punishment remains to be rigorously scrutinized. To this aim, we conducted eight studies (total N = 3328), experimentally inducing anger and assessing behavioral reactions to unfair dictator decisions in the three-person-punishment game (3PPG). In five studies, we used incidental anger induction (imagery or autobiographical recall) that allowed us to induce anger without altering the key elements of the game. Anger was successfully induced but did not increase punishment compared to a neutral control. In three further studies, we used integral anger induction (framing and emotion regulation) to manipulate anger originating within the game.Regarding the framing manipulation (Studies 6 and 7), participants reported heightened anger when the dictator took a lot from rather than giving little to the recipient, even though both decisions resulted in the same unfair split. Regarding the emotion regulation manipulation (Study 8), being confronted with a dictator how had taken an unfair share from the recipient, participants reported heightened anger when they were instructed to intensify their emotional reactions rather than to take a neutral stance. In all studies 6 - 8, participants in the conditions with heightened anger punished more than in the respective other condition. This experimental effect was mediated by anger reactions. Together, this series of studies provides evidence for the causal role of anger in third-party punishment, but only if anger originates from the unfair act itself.