ultimatum game
an experimental game in which one player (the proposer) makes an offer to another player (the responder) concerning a sum of money that the two must apportion between them, and the responder must then either accept or reject this offer. If the offer is accepted, the money is split as proposed. If the offer is rejected, neither player receives anything. Both players are fully aware of the rules and consequences of the game, which is usually played with real money provided by the experimenter. The ultimatum game is often used in studies of fairness, bargaining, and rational decision making, which typically find that if the responder deems the offer to be unfair (e.g., less than 25% of the total), he or she will reject it rather than accept anything at all. [developed in 1982 by German economists Werner Güth (1944– ), Rolf Schmittberger, and Bernd Schwarze]