# A matter of principle or a matter of money? How fairness evaluations change with experimental currencies

## TL;DR

People's sense of fairness in income redistribution changes when they learn how much money they stand to gain.

## Contribution

Shows that monetary awareness, not just self-interest, alters fairness perceptions in redistributive scenarios.

## Key findings

- Participants adjusted fairness ratings after learning token-to-money exchange rates.
- Higher personal income from redistribution was seen as fairer once monetary value was known.
- Fairness perceptions changed despite no actual change in the redistribution scheme.

## Abstract

We investigate how the information on monetary outcomes influences perceptions of fairness of income redistributions. In an economic experiment, participants initially rated the fairness of a redistribution scheme without knowing the exchange rate of experimental tokens to real money. After learning the monetary value of tokens, the participants adjusted their fairness ratings, generally perceiving redistributions that generate higher income for themselves as fairer. As the redistribution itself did not change, our findings suggest that awareness of monetary consequences affects perceptions of redistribution beyond mere self-interest.