Distributing adventitious resources: The effects of relationship and grouping

This study examines the effect of two variables-relationship and grouping-on the distribution of resources which are unearned, or "adventitious." Strangers and acquaintances made decisions about the distribution of an adventitious resource either as individual decision makers or as members of a small group. Results indicate that acquaintances were more likely to share the resource than were strangers, and that group members were more likely to share than were individual allocators. Equality received the highest overall rating as a norm for distributing the adventitious resource. At the same time, subjects expected allocators to keep the resource instead of applying an equality distribution norm.