The More You Expect, the Less You Trust: On the Flipside of Trustworthiness Expectations

11 Pages Posted: 15 Dec 2015 Last revised: 12 Oct 2017

See all articles by Wolfgang Breuer

Wolfgang Breuer

RWTH Aachen University

Christiane Helduser

RWTH Aachen University - School of Business and Economics

Philipp Schade

RWTH Aachen University - School of Business and Economics

Date Written: October 11, 2017

Abstract

Studying a binary-choice trust game, we observe a negative relationship between people’s expectations of others’ trustworthiness and their own willingness to trust. This counterintuitive finding may be interpreted as a strategy to avoid negative emotions such as disappointment and regret, which may arise when one’s initial positive expectations are disconfirmed.

Keywords: Disappointment, Emotions, Expectations, Regret, Trust, Trustworthiness

JEL Classification: A13, C91, D81

Suggested Citation

Breuer, Wolfgang and Helduser, Christiane and Schade, Philipp, The More You Expect, the Less You Trust: On the Flipside of Trustworthiness Expectations (October 11, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2703306 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2703306

Wolfgang Breuer

RWTH Aachen University ( email )

Templergraben 55
D-52056 Aachen, 52056
Germany

Christiane Helduser

RWTH Aachen University - School of Business and Economics ( email )

Templergraben 64
Aachen, 52056
Germany

Philipp Schade (Contact Author)

RWTH Aachen University - School of Business and Economics ( email )

Templergraben 64
Aachen, 52056
Germany

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