Are People Equally Other-Regarding When Picking a Partner vs Choosing an Allocation?∗

We study how other-regarding behaviour vary across two decision contexts: when subjects make a pure allocation decision; and when they pick a partner. In both settings each subject’s decision is final, as in a dictator game; and it affects their payoff and that of other subjects in the same way under both settings. We find that that subjects are less likely to sacrifice their own material wellbeing to increase that of others when selecting a partner in a large anonymous setting than when dividing a pie – even though the consequences on the material payoffs of others are identical. We interpret this differences as suggesting the application of different norms or heuristics: a pure allocation decision between four individuals including oneself resembles the decisions people make within a household, where norms of gift exchange and fairness apply; a partner selection decision resembles the decisions people make when competing for mates, where the pursuit of self-interest is acceptable. JEL codes: A13; C91; D61; D63; D64