In the ultimate game two players are offered a sum of money; player A determines the split, an offer player B can accept or reject. If the offer is rejected neither player gets any money. Many trial runs show that players tend to reject perceived unfair offers, even though nearly any offer puts free money in their pocket at no personal expense.
A team at University of Pavia, Italy ran the game and tested the player’s blood for certain fatty acids and found that “the ratio of serum omega-3/omega-6 fatty acids was significantly lower in patients who rejected unfair offers as compared to those who did not. The results of this study suggest that a depletion of the serum omega-3 fatty acids is associated with rejections of unfair ultimatum offers in an experimental neuroeconomic setting.”

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