Download PDF
Nervenheilkunde 2011; 30(06): 401-409
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1628380
Soziale Neurowissenschaften
Schattauer GmbH

Determinants of trust

Einflussfaktoren von Vertrauen
M. Lehmann-Waffenschmidt
1   Faculty of Business and Economics, TU Dresden
,
K. Leipold
1   Faculty of Business and Economics, TU Dresden
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Eingegangen am: 02 January 2011

angenommen am: 12 January 2011

Publication Date:
22 January 2018 (online)

    Permissions and Reprints

Summary

Trust is important in social, economic and political life and therefore it is subject to research in various disciplines. This paper discusses recent research on trust from an economic perspective, especially about what determines and influences trust and trustworthiness. Trust is traditionally measured with the help of survey questions, but since the last two decades experimental games are primarily applied to measure actual trusting behavior. Summing up the results, trust is not only determined by belief about the trustworthiness of the partner, but is additionally based on different preference components such as risk preferences and social preferences. Especially the dislike of being betrayed by another person is an inhibitor of trust. Furthermore, this paper reviews differences in trusting behavior across cultures and concerning demographic variables. So far, however, the experimental evidence does not show a uniform picture. Indeed, individual differences in preferences and beliefs seem to provide an explanation for the observed differences in trust.

Zusammenfassung

Vertrauen spielt eine wichtige Rolle im sozialen, ökonomischen und politischen Bereich und ist damit Forschungsgegenstand verschiedener Disziplinen. Dieser Artikel analysiert aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse aus der Ökonomie und beschäftigt sich insbesondere mit den Bestimmungsgründen und Einflussfaktoren von Vertrauen und Vertrauenswürdigkeit. Vertrauen wird traditionell mithilfe von Fragebögen erfasst. In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten wurden zunehmend experimentelle Paradigmen zur Messung von Vertrauen eingesetzt. Die Ergebnisse der Experimente zeigen, dass Vertrauen nicht nur von den Erwartungen bzgl. der Vertrauenswürdigkeit des Partners abhängt, sondern ebenfalls von verschiedenen Präferenzkomponenten, z. B. von Risikopräferenzen und sozialen Präferenzen. Besonders die Abneigung von anderen betrogen zu werden, verhindert die Bildung von Vertrauen. Des Weiteren gibt der Artikel einen Überblick über kulturelle und demografische Einflussfaktoren von Vertrauen. Die experimentellen Studien zeigen jedoch kein eindeutiges Ergebnis. Es ist zu vermuten, dass beobachtete Unterschiede im Vertrauen auf individuelle Unterschiede der Präferenzen und Erwartungen zurückzuführen sind.

Keywords

Trust - trustworthiness - trust game - social preferences

Schlüsselwörter

Vertrauen - Vertrauenswürdigkeit - Vertrauensspiel - soziale Präferenzen
 

  • References

  • 1 Ahmed AM, Salas O. The relationship between behavioral and attitudinal trust: a cross-cultural study. Review of Social Economy 2009; 67: 457-82.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Alesina A, LaFerrara E. Who trust others?. Journal of Public Economics 2002; 85: 207-34.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Andreoni J. Impure altruism and donations to public goods: a theory of warm-glow giving?. Economic Journal 1990; 100: 464-77.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Andreoni J, Miller J. Giving according to GARP: an experimental test of the consistency of preferences for altruism. Econometrica 2002; 70: 737-53.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Ashraf N, Bohnet I, Piankow N. Decomposing trust and trustworthiness. Experimental Economics 2006; 09: 193-208.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Barr A. Trust and expected trustworthiness: experimental evidence from Zimbabwean villages. Economic Journal 2003; 113: 614-30.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Baumgartner T. et al. Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans. Neuron 2008; 58: 639-50.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Bellemare C, Kröger S. On representative trust. CentER Discussion Paper. Tilburg University; 2003
    Google Scholar
  • 9 Ben-Ner A, Putterman L. Trusting and trustworthiness. Boston University Law Review 2001; 81: 523-51.
    Google Scholar
  • 10 Ben-Ner A, Halldorsson F. Trusting and trustworthiness: what are they, how to measure them, and what affects them?. Journal of Economic Psychology 2010; 31 (01) 64-79.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Berg J, Dickhaut J, McCabe KA. Trust, reciprocity, and social history. Games and Economic Behavior 1995; 10: 290-307.
    Google Scholar
  • 12 Bohnet I. Trust in experiments. In: Durlauf S, Blume L. Behavioural and experimental economics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2010
    Google Scholar
  • 13 Bohnet I, Herrmann B, Zeckhauser R. Trust and the reference points for trustworthiness in gulf and western countries. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2010; 125 (02) 811-28.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Bohnet I, Greig F, Herrmann B, Zeckhauser R. Betrayal aversion: evidence from Brazil, China, Oman, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United States. American Economic Review 2008; 98: 294-310.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Bohnet I, Zeckhauser R. Trust, risk and betrayal. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2004; 55: 467-84.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Bolton G, Ockenfels A. A theory of equity, reciprocity and competition. American Economic Review 2000; 90: 166-93.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Buchan N, Croson R, Solnick S. Trust and gender: an examination of behavior, biases, and beliefs in the investment game. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2008; 68 (3–4): 466-76.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Camerer C. Behavioral game theory: experiments in strategic interaction. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 2003
    Google Scholar
  • 19 Camerer C, Weigelt K. Experimental tests of a sequential equilibrium reputation model. Econometrica 1988; 56: 1-36.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Charness G, Rabin M. Understanding social preferences with simple tests. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2002; 117: 817-69.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Coleman J. Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press; 1990
    Google Scholar
  • 22 Cox JC. How to indentify trust and reciprocity. Games and Economic Behavior 2004; 46: 260-81.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 23 Croson R, Buchan N. Gender and culture: international experimental evidence from trust games. American Economic Review 1999; 89: 386-92.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 24 Dakkak I. et al. Actions and beliefs in a trilateral trust game involving Germans, Israelis and Palestinians. Working Paper University of Bonn; 2007
    Google Scholar
  • 25 Delgado MR, Frank RH, Phelps EA. Perceptions of moral character modulate the neural systems of reward during the trust game. Nature Neuroscience 2005; 08 (11) 1611-8.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Dufwenberg M, Gneezy U. Measuring beliefs in an experimental lost wallet game. Games and Economic Behavior 2000; 30: 163-82.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 27 Eckel CC, Wilson RK. Is trust a risky decision?. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2004; 55: 447-65.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Fehr E. On the economics and biology of trust. Journal of the European Economic Association 2009; 07 (2/3): 235-66.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 29 Fehr E. et al. A nation-wide laboratory: examining trust and trustworthiness by integrating behavioral experiments into representative surveys. IZA Discussion Paper Bonn. 2003
    Google Scholar
  • 30 Fehr E, Gächter S. Fairness and retaliation: the economics of reciprocity. Journal of Economic Perspectives 2000; 14: 159-81.
    Google Scholar
  • 31 Fehr E, Kirchsteiger G, Riedl A. Does fairness prevent market clearing? An experimental investigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics 1993; 108: 437-59.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 32 Fehr E, Schmidt K. A Theory of fairness, competition and cooperation. Quarterly Journal of Economics 1999; 114: 817-68.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 33 Fershtman C, Gneezy U. Discrimination in a segmented society: an experimental approach. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2001; 16 (01) 351-77.
    Google Scholar
  • 34 Glaeser E, Laibson D, Scheinkman J, Soutter C. Measuring trust. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2000; 115: 811-46.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 35 Guiso L, Sapienza P, Zingales L. Cultural biases in economic exchange?. Quarterly Journal of Economics 2009; 124 (03) 1095-131.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 36 Hong K, Bohnet I. Status and distrust: the relevance of inequality and betrayal aversion. Journal of Economic Psychology 2007; 28: 197-213.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 37 Houser D, Schunk D, Winter J. Distinguishing trust from risk: an anatomy of the investment game. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2009; 74 (1–2): 72-81.
    Google Scholar
  • 38 Insel T, Young L. The neurobiology of attachment. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 2001; 02: 129-36.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 39 King-Casas B. et al. The rupture and repair of cooperation in borderline personality disorder. Science 2008; 32 (5890): 806-10.
    Google Scholar
  • 40 King-Casas B. et al. Getting to know you: reputation and trust in a two-person economic exchange. Science 2005; 308 (5718) 78-83.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 41 Knack S, Keefer P. Does social capital have an economic payoff? A cross-country investigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics 1997; 112: 1251-88.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 42 Kosfeld M. et al. Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature 2005; 435: 673-7.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 43 Kramer R. Trust and Distrust in Organizations: emerging perspectives, enduring questions. Annual Review of Psychology 1999; 50: 569-98.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 44 Krueger F. et al. Neural correlates of trust. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2007; 104 (50) 20084-9.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 45 Krueger F, Grafman J, McCabe K. Neural correlates of economic game playing. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Sci 2008; 363 (1511): 3859-74.
    Google Scholar
  • 46 Laporta R. et al. Trust in large organizations. American Economic Review 1997; 87: 333-8.
    Google Scholar
  • 47 Mansbridge J. Altruistic trust. In: Warren M. Democracy and trust. Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press; 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 48 Naef M. et al. Decomposing trust: explaining national and ethnical trust differences. Working Paper Institute for Empirical Research in Economics. University of Zuric; 2008
    Google Scholar
  • 49 Phan KL. et al. Reputation for reciprocity engages the brain reward center. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2010; 107 (29) 13099-104.
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 50 Perugini M, Callucci M, Presaghi F, Ercolani AP. The personal norm of reciprocity. European Journal of Personality 2003; 17: 251-83.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 51 Rotter J. Interpersonal trust, trustworthiness and gullibility. American Psychologist 1980; 35: 1-7.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 52 Rousseau D, Sitkin S, Burt R, Camerer C. Not so different after all: a cross-discipline view of trust. Academy of Management Review 1998; 23: 393-404.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 53 Schechter L. Traditional trust measurement and the risk confound: an experiment in rural Paraguay. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 2007; 62 (02) 172-92.
    Google Scholar
  • 54 Snijder C, Keren G. Determinants of trust. In: Budescu D, Erev I, Zwick R. Games and human behavior: essays in honor of Amnon Rapoport; Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1998
    Google Scholar
  • 55 Walkowitz G, Oberhammer C, Hennig-Schmidt H. Experimenting over a long distance – a method to facilitate intercultural experiments. Bonn Econ Discussion Papers. University of Bonn; 2004
    Google Scholar
  • 56 Willinger M. et al. A Comparison of trust and reciprocity between France and Germany: experimental investigation based on the investment game. Journal of Economic Psychology 2003; 24: 447-66.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar
  • 57 Yamagishi T, Yamagishi M. Trust and commitment in the United States and Japan. Motivation and Emotion 1994; 18: 129-66.
    CrossrefGoogle Scholar