Trust, Cooperative Behavior and Economic Success: When Trust is the Capital of the Person?
13 Pages Posted: 11 Nov 2014
Date Written: November 10, 2014
Abstract
This article presents the results of study dedicated to the interrelation of trust, cooperative behavior and the size of the winning prize in the multi-way decision modified prisoners’ dilemma. The experiment was organized using a specially designed computer program. The study involved six groups of participants and each group consisted of 7 players. The experiment consisted of a series of 15 rounds and included preliminary and final testing. The study found that cooperative behavior within the members in the group had fallen during 11 rounds, but there was a tendency to improve it. The trust level of an individual and his/her choice of cooperative strategy in the first series of the experiment are interrelated. Generalized trust is a rather stable construct, but it does not remain unchanged with an actual reduction of cooperative behavior.
Keywords: trust, cooperative behavior, prisoners’ dilemma, economic psychology.
JEL Classification: D03
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation