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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
06:18
The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
[Adaptive foundation of group-based reciprocity].
Yutaka Horita1, Toshio Yamagishi
1Department of Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Letters, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan.
Summary
In-group bias in minimal groups emerged only when group membership was common knowledge, supporting the group heuristic hypothesis. This suggests bias is an adaptive strategy to maintain reputation in social exchange.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Game Theory
Context:
- Investigates in-group bias within minimal group settings.
- Examines the role of knowledge about group membership in social interactions.
- Utilizes the one-shot sequential prisoner's dilemma game.
Purpose:
- To test the group heuristic hypothesis regarding in-group bias.
- To determine if knowledge of group affiliation influences biased behavior.
- To understand the adaptive nature of in-group favoritism.
Summary:
- Eighty-nine participants played a prisoner's dilemma game, acting as the second player against a cooperative first player.
- In-group bias was observed exclusively in the common knowledge condition, where both players knew each other's group membership.
- No in-group bias was found in the private knowledge condition, where group membership was not mutually known.
Impact:
- Provides empirical support for the group heuristic hypothesis.
- Suggests in-group bias serves an adaptive function in generalized exchange systems.
- Highlights the importance of shared information in fostering group-based discrimination or favoritism.
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