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To trust, or not to trust: Cognitive reflection in trust games

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  • Corgnet, Brice
  • Espín, Antonio M.
  • Hernán-González, Roberto
  • Kujal, Praveen
  • Rassenti, Stephen

Abstract

We present results from two studies that show a positive relation between cognitive reflection and trusting behavior, but no significant relation with trustworthy behavior. Our finding holds regardless of individual distributional social preferences and risk aversion. Our results add to a growing body of literature that illustrates the role of cognitive ability in helping explain outcomes in economic experiments.

Suggested Citation

  • Corgnet, Brice & Espín, Antonio M. & Hernán-González, Roberto & Kujal, Praveen & Rassenti, Stephen, 2016. "To trust, or not to trust: Cognitive reflection in trust games," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 20-27.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:64:y:2016:i:c:p:20-27
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2015.09.008
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    Cited by:

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    3. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Kujal, Praveen & Lenkei, Balint, 2019. "Cognitive reflection test: Whom, how, when," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    4. Antonio Cabrales & Antonio M. Espín & Praveen Kujal & Stephen Rassenti, 2017. "Humans’ (incorrect) distrust of reflective decisions," Working Papers 17-05, Chapman University, Economic Science Institute.
    5. Rémi Suchon & Marie Claire Villeval, 2017. "Does upward mobility harm trust?," Post-Print halshs-01659021, HAL.
    6. Füllbrunn, Sascha & Vyrastekova, Jana, 2023. "Does trust break even? A trust-game experiment with negative endowments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Espín, Antonio M. & Garcia, Teresa & Kovářík, Jaromír, 2018. "Digit ratio (2D:4D) predicts pro-social behavior in economic games only for unsatisfied individuals," MPRA Paper 86166, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Daniel D. Schnitzlein, 2019. "The relationship between trust, cognitive skills, and democracy - Evidence from 30 countries around the world," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 39(1), pages 200-206.
    9. Amalia Rodrigo-González & María Caballer-Tarazona & Aurora García-Gallego, 2019. "Active Learning on Trust and Reciprocity for Undergraduates," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-22, August.
    10. Ivàn José Barreda Tarrazona & Agnès Festré & Stein Østbye, 2023. "Social Capital: Experimental Validation of Survey Measures," GREDEG Working Papers 2023-13, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    11. Koch, Alexander K. & Nafziger, Julia, 2016. "Gift exchange, control, and cyberloafing: A real-effort experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 131(PA), pages 409-426.
    12. Peng, Hui-Chun, 2020. "Effect of cognitive ability on matching and rebate subsidies," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 19-25.
    13. Ruffle, Bradley J. & Wilson, Anne E., 2019. "Tat will tell: Tattoos and time preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 566-585.
    14. Gamze Abramov & Sebastien Miellet & Jason Kautz & Brin F S Grenyer & Frank P Deane, 2020. "The paradoxical decline and growth of trust as a function of borderline personality disorder trait count: Using discontinuous growth modelling to examine trust dynamics in response to violation and re," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, July.
    15. Francisco B. Galarza, 2017. "Trust and Trustworthiness in College: An Experimental Analysis," Working Papers 17-03, Centro de Investigación, Universidad del Pacífico.
    16. Rassenti, Stephen & Espin, Antonio M. & Kujal, Praveen, 2017. "Humans’ (incorrect) distrust of reflective decisions," CEPR Discussion Papers 11949, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Guo, Qingke & Sun, Peng & Cai, Minghang & Zhang, Xiling & Song, Kexin, 2019. "Why are smarter individuals more prosocial? A study on the mediating roles of empathy and moral identity," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1-8.
    18. Du, Juntao & Song, Malin & Xie, Bing, 2022. "Eliminating energy poverty in Chinese households: A cognitive capability framework," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 373-384.
    19. Taylor, Matthew P., 2020. "Heterogeneous motivation and cognitive ability in the lab," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    20. Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Smith, John, 2016. "Cognitive abilities and economic behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-4.

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