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The Collective Trust Game: An Online Group Adaptation of the Trust Game Based on the HoneyComb Paradigm
Published on: October 20, 2022
The modular nature of trustworthiness detection
Jean-François Bonnefon1, Astrid Hopfensitz2, Wim De Neys3
1Cognition, Langues, Langage et Ergonomie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|June 13, 2012
Summary
Detecting trustworthiness from faces is an effortless ability, independent of general intelligence. This process is impaired by non-facial cues, leading to inaccurate conscious judgments in economic interactions.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Wise trust facilitates success and prosperity.
- Previous conjectures suggested higher intelligence aids in detecting untrustworthiness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if trustworthiness detection from faces is linked to general intelligence.
- To explore the modularity and effortlessness of trustworthiness perception.
- To understand how non-facial cues influence trustworthiness judgments.
Main Methods:
- Five trust game studies were conducted.
- Participants' ability to detect trustworthiness from faces was assessed.
- The influence of general intelligence and non-facial features was examined.
Main Results:
- Trustworthiness detection from faces is a modular process, independent of general intelligence.
- This detection is an effortless ability.
- Non-facial features (hair, clothing) impair detection by increasing reliance on conscious judgments.
- Despite this, people prefer decisions based on images with non-facial features.
Conclusions:
- Trustworthiness detection in economic interactions is an innate, effortless ability.
- Cognitive capacity does not influence this ability.
- Reliance on conscious judgments and preference for complex visual information can lead to inaccurate assessments.
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