Sharing Personal Information is Discounted as a Function of Social Distance

Abstract

Abstract Social discounting researchers have repeatedly shown that individuals discount sharing the amount of a monetary reward as a function of social distance, and that increasing the available monetary reward decreases sharing. However, no previous study has tested whether sharing nonmonetary commodities are discounted as a function of social distance. The current study tested whether sharing personal information would be discounted similarly to monetary rewards, as well as whether a magnitude effect occurred at a relatively small magnitude difference with 96 university students. A within-participant procedure showed that sharing personal information was discounted as a function of social distance, albeit with a steeper discounting rate relative to both monetary reward magnitudes. However, there was no significant association between personal information discounting rates and monetary discounting rates at either magnitude, suggesting that participants treated each commodity differently (i.e., commodity effect). Replicating previous non-U.S. samples, discounting rates for both monetary reward magnitudes were significantly positively associated with each other and showed a significant magnitude effect, with participants showing significantly steeper discounting rates for the relatively larger monetary rewards. The results for sharing personal information are important because many scams now target personal information in addition to money. Future research should examine what type of personal information is most likely to be shared as a function of social distance, and whether those participants who choose to share more personal information also are at greater risk for scams targeting personal information.

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