Trust, trolleys and social dilemmas: A replication study.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Moral Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Trustworthiness is crucial in social dilemmas.
• Moral judgments influence partner selection.
• Previous research by Everett et al. (2016) explored this link.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how moral judgments on trolley dilemmas affect perceived trustworthiness in social dilemmas.
• To conceptually replicate and extend Everett et al.'s findings using a different methodology.
• To examine trust in deontologists versus consequentialists.

Main Methods:

• Two independent studies were conducted.
• Study 1 used trust games.
• Study 2 utilized public goods games.

Main Results:

• Deontologists were consistently more trusted than consequentialists across both game types.
• Deontologists showed increased cooperation rates, but only in public goods games, not trust games.
• Findings confirmed and generalized the effect observed by Everett et al.

Conclusions:

• Perceived trustworthiness in social dilemmas is influenced by moral judgment orientation (deontological vs. consequentialist).
• While deontologists generally receive more trust, their cooperative behavior is context-dependent.
• The findings extend previous research, highlighting the nuanced relationship between moral philosophy and social cooperation.