Risk versus social preferences under the veil of ignorance

► We report evidence from three Dictator Game treatments, T1 to T3. ► In all treatments, subjects choose among four options, which correspond to fixed monetary prizes. ► In T1, subjects know the identity of the best paid player, in T2 choices are made under the veil of ignorance. ► We also collect evidence from an additional treatment, T3, a standard binary lottery. ► Our results suggest that social concerns deeply decrease in situations characterized by role uncertainty.