Trust And Trustworthiness: A Game Theory Transcontinental Experiment

Abstract

This article reports the results of a laboratory experiment that investigated differences in trust and trustworthiness between Americans and Croatians. Contrary to the majority of previous cross-cultural studies, this experiment implemented a design that allowed participants to simultaneously interact with subjects from the other country. Additionally, it analyzed changes in their levels of trust and trustworthiness when information about the nationality of a subject’s counterpart was not revealed. The main findings are: 1) Overall, Croatians trusted more than Americans did, but Americans were more trustworthy, 2) Subjects from both nationalities trusted less when they knew they were paired with somebody from another country, compared to when they interacted with someone from the same country, 3) Croatians also became less trustworthy when they were paired with an American, but Americans became more trustworthy when they were paired with a Croatian, and 4) Uncertainty about the nationality of one’s counterpart reduced both trust and trustworthiness for both nationalities, a result that suggests that, overall, not knowing the nationality of one person caused the subjects to behave as if this person was of a different nationality.