Discrimination: Does Perception of Corruption Affect our Interactions?

Does our perception of corruption affect our interactions? This question was answered through an experimental survey of 90 participants and the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from Transparency International’s 2017 Report. The survey revealed that those who were categorized as low-corrupt with an above average CPI exhibited altruism towards individuals from perceived high-corrupt regions but discriminated negatively against them when restrictions were placed on the interaction. In the experiment, participants were allowed to give any amount between zero and six dollars in both games. Altruism was measured through the dictator game and low-corrupt participants were found to give one dollar more, $3.60, to those perceived to be high-corrupt than they gave to participants who were perceived to be low-corrupt, $2.60. The ultimatum game was the measure for a restricted environment and low-corrupt participants gave sixty cents less, $2.80, to those perceived to be high-corrupt than they gave to participants perceived to be low-corrupt, $3.40. Other findings from the survey exhibited discriminatory behavior by categorized high-corrupt participants but were ultimately not statistically significant.