Participant Information

This is a research study conducted by Mohammed Haris Naheem of the University of Birmingham. This information sheet explains the reasoning and procedure of this study before giving you the opportunity to take part by confirming your consent. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any questions or more information.

What is the reason for this study?

The purpose of this study is to understand how people’s perceived fairness in economic decision-making is impacted by knowledge of who/what made the decision. This “source knowledge” effect has not been tested before, so this study addresses a gap in existing literature in behavioural economics. It can also improve our understanding of human–AI interactions and lead to more successful implementation of algorithmic decision-makers.

Do you have to take part?

Your participation is completely voluntary. You do not have to provide a reason for not taking part. If you do decide to participate, you can withdraw at any time before the point of final data submission and you will not be penalised in any way. Once your data is submitted, it is immediately anonymised so it cannot be withdrawn as it cannot be traced. To withdraw at any point before the final submission, all you have to do is close your browser.

What is the process if you do take part?

If you decide to take part, you will be directed to the oTree platform that hosts this online experiment. This experiment should not take you longer than a few minutes to complete. Below are the steps of the experiment:

• You will take part as either a receiver in the Dictator Game or a responder in the Ultimatum Game. You will respond to an offer of money made from a £10 allocation.
• You will be assigned to either a human, AI, or “blind” treatment group. The game and treatment group are randomised.

What are the Dictator Game and Ultimatum Game?

• Dictator Game (DG): One person (the “dictator”) decides how to split £10 between themselves and another person (the “receiver”). The receiver cannot reject the offer. In this study, if you are the receiver, you will rate how fair the offer seems (1 = very unfair, 5 = very fair).
• Ultimatum Game (UG): One person proposes how to split £10. The other person (the “responder”) can accept (both get the proposed amounts) or reject (both get £0).

• You will then take part in a follow-up Dictator Game, where you will act as the dictator and make an offer of your choice from another £10 allocation to an anonymous receiver.
• You will then complete a short questionnaire and the study is complete.

Important disclaimer

For this experiment to be effective, some information provided during the study may be hidden, simplified or framed in a specific way. You will be informed about these details at the end of the study.

Potential benefits and risks

Benefits: There is no guaranteed payment for Reddit participation. Your participation will help make crucial contributions to economic research.

Risks: The task is a low-stakes economic game and there are no psychological, physical or legal risks. Any potential stress or anxiety induced from the game is not expected to be greater than what is experienced in daily life.

How is data made confidential and used?

Your participation will be anonymous. Your individual data (decisions made and responses in the final questionnaire) will not contain sensitive personal information like your name, email or any other information that could potentially be used to personally identify you.

All anonymised data will be stored on the secure, encrypted and password-protected University of Birmingham OneDrive system. Only the researcher and dissertation supervisor will have access to this data.

The data is stored until July 2026, when the researcher will have completed his academic studies. After that period, it is securely destroyed. The data will be used in the researcher’s dissertation and may also be used in academic publications. Raw, anonymised data may be shared for verification purposes.

Further information or questions

If you are unsure about anything or have further questions, do not hesitate to email the researcher Mohammed Haris Naheem at: mhn357@student.bham.ac.uk

Declaration of Consent

By ticking below and proceeding to the study, I confirm that:

1. I have read and understood the participation information sheet above for this study.
2. If I have any further questions I have contacted the researcher and received satisfactory responses.
3. I understand my participation is voluntary and I have the right to withdraw at any time before final data submission, without providing a reason.
4. I understand some information may be hidden, simplified or framed in a specific way for research purposes and this will be explained at the end of the study.
5. I fully understand how my data will be anonymised, stored and used.