Affiliation:
1. University of Southern Mississippi
Abstract
Many theories assume that outcomes from the same class possess similar values or aversions. The present experiments test two interpretations of this notion. Both experiments measured undergraduates' ( ns = 146 and 154, respectively) values and aversions on ratio scales. Both experiments found that rewards and punishers in the same class do not share similar absolute impacts. However, both experiments found that rewards and punishers from the same class do share similar interindividual impacts, i.e., if a person values a reward more highly than his peers, then he will value other rewards from the same class more highly than his peers. Finally, the present experiments provide normative data on the absolute values and aversions of outcomes which are frequently used in experiments with humans.