Parochial trust and cooperation across 17 societies

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics
• Cross-Cultural Psychology

Background:

• Global challenges necessitate international cooperation, yet many nations exhibit inward-looking policies and reluctance to cooperate.
• Understanding the dynamics of trust and cooperation within and between groups is crucial for addressing these challenges.
• Existing theories on ingroup favoritism require testing across diverse societal contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors influencing trust and cooperation with ingroup versus outgroup members across 17 countries.
• To test theories explaining why, who, and where individuals exhibit ingroup favoritism.
• To examine the role of reputational concerns in promoting cooperation.

Main Methods:

• An experimental study using the trust game, involving participants as trustors or trustees.
• Manipulation of partner group membership (ingroup, outgroup, unknown) and reputational stakes.
• Measurement of individual differences using social value orientation.

Main Results:

• Participants consistently showed more trust and cooperation towards ingroup members than outgroup members.
• Reputational concerns significantly promoted trust and cooperation universally, irrespective of societal context.
• Men displayed greater ingroup favoritism than women; social value orientation predicted cooperation with both ingroup and outgroup members.

Conclusions:

• Reputational concerns are a powerful, universal mechanism for fostering trust and cooperation, potentially overriding ingroup bias.
• Understanding individual cooperative preferences is key to promoting broader cooperation.
• Cross-societal theories based on material security, religiosity, or pathogen stress did not adequately explain variations in ingroup favoritism.