The needs of the many, the wealth of the few: how responsibility affects decision-making for others

The responsibility alleviation effect that agents are more cautious for others than themselves is often cited. However, precisely what aspect of decision-making for others evokes responsibility has never been tested. We analyse two dimensions in risky decision-making for others that may amplify perceived responsibility: the number of affected principals and the investment amount agents are responsible for. In an online experiment, we systematically vary the number of principals, the investment amounts and the overall investment sum. We find no evidence that decision-makers act more cautiously when investing for more people, or with a larger total amount, but we find a significant effect of the increased endowment amounts per person. Our results suggest that responsibility effects depend mostly on the potential outcome for individuals rather than the total impact of the decision.