Why do you think your paper is highly cited?

Based on a simple fairness principle, we developed a model that organized a large and seemingly disparate set of behavioral patterns observed in experimental economics and psychology laboratories all over the world. At the same time, our model yielded a fresh and challenging view on traditional approaches to decision making in social interaction. So the paper touches what is at the heart of many economists' and, more generally, social scientists' interests.

  Does it describe a new discovery or new methodology that's useful to others?

Since the model can be applied to all kinds of games, even games with incomplete information, it points to new and innovative empirical tests, the data from which then provides the grist for refining the existing model, or creating entirely new ones.

  Is it a condensation of previous literature on the subject?

The paper identified a common link among a wide variety of experiments, and therefore presented a consistent map of previously observed economic behavior.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms

The various areas of inquiry that constitute experimental economics and psychology appear at times to be surveying distinct and isolated regions of behavior. What we see in experiments involving market institutions is usually consistent with standard notions of 'competitive' self-interest. Other types of experiments appear to foster sharply different conduct. 'Equity' has emerged as an important factor in bargaining games. 'Reciprocity,' of a type that differs from the standard strategic conception, is often cited to explain behavior in games such as the prisoner’s dilemma. There is substantial controversy about what, if anything, connects these observations. Our model is based on the premise that people behave strategically and that they are motivated by both their pecuniary payoff and (unlike in traditional economic approaches) their relative payoff standing. It demonstrates that the interplay of individual motives and strategic interaction may yield competitive, fair or reciprocal behavior depending on the institutional environment. Seemingly disparate behaviors can be traced back to a simple common principle.