Abstract
In the discussion about wage inequality, principles of fairness and need
for incentives are juxtaposed as opposing motivations for wage
inequality acceptance. While previous literature focused on ideal
inequality, in one correlational and one preregistered experimental
study (Ntotal = 473) we tested the hypothesis of a threshold of
inequality acceptance. Participants were asked to indicate what a CEO
should earn, ideally (i.e., ideal pay gap) and at maximum (i.e., highest
acceptable pay gap), given the wage of a worker. Results showed that
individuals generally indicated higher values for highest acceptable
than for ideal pay gaps. In conclusion, these studies pave the way for
new research on the cognitive and motivational underpinnings of
attitudes towards economic inequalities.