Group identity and betrayal: decomposing trust

Trust in members of one’s own social group (ingroup members) is often higher than that in members of other groups (outgroup members). In this paper, I study (i) how betrayal aversion contributes to in-/outgroup discrimination in trust and (ii) how this contribution evolves as social groups solidify.

I run two very similar laboratory experiments, first shortly after individuals have been randomly assigned to social groups (outside the laboratory), and seven months later. I find a null result: there is no intergroup discrimination in betrayal aversion, at neither point in time. In the first experiment, betrayal aversion is positive, and does not differ towards in- versus outgroup members.