Intention-based reciprocity and signaling of intentions

Journal article

Many experiments find that trust intentions are a key determinant of prosociality. If intentions matter, then prosociality should depend on whether trust intentions can be credibly conveyed. This conjecture is formalized and tested in a noisy trust game where I vary the extent to which trust can be credibly signaled. I find that the introduction of noise threatens the onset of trust relations and induces players to form more pessimistic beliefs. Therefore policies that increase transparency of the decision-making environment may foster prosociality. However, the potential impact of such policies could be limited by a large heterogeneity in how individuals respond to changes in their information environment.

Authors: Toussaert, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
• Volume: 137
• Pages: 132-144
• Publication date: 2017-03-07
• Acceptance date: 2017-03-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.03.001
• ISSN: 0167-2681
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR