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How activating cognitive content shapes trust: A subliminal priming study

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  • Posten, Ann-Christin
  • Ockenfels, Axel
  • Mussweiler, Thomas

Abstract

The activation of cognitive contents plays a prominent role in social psychological research. Yet, so far this has received little attention in economics. In our research we connect a standard social psychological manipulation to activate cognitive content (a trust vs. distrust priming manipulation) to a classic paradigm from economics (a trust game). Our findings demonstrate that subliminally activating the concept of trust (vs. distrust) leads participants to judge a series of strangers as more (vs. less) trustworthy. Moreover, our research shows for the first time that such a subliminal priming manipulation shapes the subsequent sending behavior in a fictitious version of a standard economic trust game. This suggests that psychological priming techniques allow new insights into what determines beliefs in economic games.

Suggested Citation

  • Posten, Ann-Christin & Ockenfels, Axel & Mussweiler, Thomas, 2014. "How activating cognitive content shapes trust: A subliminal priming study," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 12-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:41:y:2014:i:c:p:12-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2013.04.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Reitmann, Ann-Kristin & Goedhuys, Micheline & Grimm, Michael & Nillesen, Eleonora E.M., 2020. "Gender attitudes in the Arab region – The role of framing and priming effects," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Bolton, Gary E. & Ockenfels, Axel & Stauf, Julia, 2015. "Social responsibility promotes conservative risk behavior," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 109-127.
    3. Zürn, Michael & Topolinski, Sascha, 2017. "When trust comes easy: Articulatory fluency increases transfers in the trust game," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 74-86.
    4. Ola Andersson & Topi Miettinen & Kaisa Hytönen & Magnus Johannesson & Ute Stephan, 2017. "Subliminal influence on generosity," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 20(3), pages 531-555, September.
    5. Parampreet Christopher Bindra & Graeme Pearce, 2022. "The effect of priming on fraud: Evidence from a natural field experiment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(4), pages 1854-1874, October.
    6. Xu, Cheng, 2021. "Effects of urbanization on trust: Evidence from an experiment in the field," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Trust; Distrust; Priming; Belief formation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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