Effects Of Strategic Generosity On Trust

Trust plays a crucial role in both individual development and social progress.It serves as a psychological resource that forms the basis for sustainable economic growth at the national level.Currently,our country is grappling with the harsh social reality of declining interpersonal trust.Therefore,it is crucial to conduct research on trust.In this study,we categorize trust into two types: direct trust and indirect trust.Direct trust is generated through direct interactions between individuals.Indirect trust is a type of trust relationship that is established based on the recommendation of a third party between individuals who have not previously interacted directly.Previous studies have shown that generosity is an important factor that affects trust in relationships.Generous individuals are more likely to gain trust from others.However,if generosity is perceived as a strategic action,further exploration is needed to understand its effects on trust.The purpose of this study is to investigate whether perceptual rules,such as strategy and spontaneity,influence participants’ perception of generosity and their level of direct trust in the context of the dictator game and trust game.Secondly,ERP technology was utilized to further investigate the distinction between perceived strategic generosity and spontaneous generosity in terms of their impact on direct trust levels and the underlying neural mechanisms.Finally,the study examined the impact of perceived rules and generosity on the level of indirect trust.Accordingly,this study is designed to include the following three experiments:In Study 1,we examined the impact of perception rules on direct trust between individuals using the method of anonymous interaction among real people.A total of84 college students were selected to participate in the study.Participants were asked to perform decision-making tasks,including the dictator game and trust game,while operating under different perceptual rules.Each participant played only the role of either Player A or Player B.The results showed that in the dictator game,more Player B participants chose the generous option in the strategic condition compared to the spontaneous condition.Additionally,the belief measurement was consistent with the behavioral data.Both Player A and Player B predicted that more players would choose the generous option in the strategic condition.Generosity in the strategic context also significantly reduced Player A’s perceived generosity.In the trust game,player A is more inclined to give more investment to player B who chooses generosity under the spontaneous condition.However,there is a significant difference between Player B who chooses generosity under spontaneous conditions and Player B who chooses generosity under strategic conditions.In the trust game,Player A is more likely to invest more in Player B if they exhibit generosity under spontaneous conditions.Building on Study 1,Study 2 utilized ERP technology to investigate the precise stages of brain processing during which strategic generosity impacts individuals’ direct trust.A group of 26 college students were randomly assigned to either the spontaneous condition or the generosity condition,and were asked to complete decision-making tasks under varying degrees of generosity.In Study 2,we segmented the EEG data into decision types(liberal-trusting,liberal-non-trusting,selfish-trusting,and selfish-non-trusting)based on experimental conditions.The behavioral results indicate that participants in the spontaneous condition were significantly more likely to make generous and trusting decisions than those in the strategic condition.The ERP results showed that trust behavior in the strategic generosity condition elicited a more negative N2 component,suggesting that cognitive conflict was greater in this condition.Compared to the condition of spontaneous generosity,trust choice under the condition of strategic generosity induced a smaller P3 peak.This suggests that trust choice under strategic generosity conditions increases cognitive load and requires more cognitive resources to resolve conflicts and make decisions.The third study aimed to investigate the impact of previous experiences(generosity or selfishness)on indirect trust between two individuals who have not interacted directly,under the manipulation of perceptual rules.Thirty college students were selected and asked to complete the same decision-making task as in Study 1,but with different perceptual rules and levels of generosity as Player A.In Study 3,participants played the dictator game from a third-party perspective.The results show that the level of trust in the spontaneous condition is significantly higher than that in the strategic condition.The level of trust in the generous condition was significantly higher than that in the selfish condition.Furthermore,a comparison between the effects of strategic generosity and spontaneous generosity on participants’ indirect trust level yielded similar results to Study 1.Specifically,the results indicated that strategic generosity significantly decreased participants’ level of indirect trust in comparison to spontaneous generosity.In conclusion,when compared to spontaneous generosity,strategic generosity can reduce the level of trust others have in the giver.Results from ERP studies also confirm that strategic generosity can lead to greater cognitive response conflict and cognitive load when making trust-related decisions.This study sheds light on the reasons for the decline of trust in today’s society and offers theoretical guidance for promoting interpersonal trust.