Trust games: A meta-analysis

Noel Johnson () and Alexandra A. Mislin

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2011, vol. 32, issue 5, 865-889

Abstract: We collect data from 162 replications of the Berg, Dickhaut, and McCabe Investment game (the “trust” game) involving more than 23,000 participants. We conduct a meta-analysis of these games in order to identify the effect of experimental protocols and geographic variation on this popular behavioral measure of trust and trustworthiness. Our findings indicate that the amount sent in the game is significantly affected by whether payment is random, and whether play is with a simulated counterpart. Trustworthiness is significantly affected by the amount by which the experimenter multiplies the amount sent, whether subjects play both roles in the experiment, and whether the subjects are students. We find robust evidence that subjects send less in trust games conducted in Africa than those in North America.

Keywords: Trust; Trust game; Meta-analysis; Cross-cultural experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D74 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (350)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:32:y:2011:i:5:p:865-889

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2011.05.007

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