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Fairness and Trust in Virtual Environments: The Effects of Reputation

Author

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  • Mirko Duradoni

    (Department of Information Engineering, University of Florence, Via Santa Marta 3, 50139 Firenze, Italy)

  • Mario Paolucci

    (Laboratory of Agent Based Social Simulation (LABSS), Institute of Cognitive Science and Technology (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Via Palestro 32, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Franco Bagnoli

    (Center for the Study of Complex Dynamics (CSDC), University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50135 Firenze, Italy)

  • Andrea Guazzini

    (Center for the Study of Complex Dynamics (CSDC), University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50135 Firenze, Italy
    Department of Education and Psychology, University of Florence, Via di San Salvi 12, 50135 Firenze, Italy)

Abstract

Reputation supports pro-social behaviors in a variety of social settings and across different ages. When re-encounters are possible, developing a positive reputation can be a valuable asset that will result in better outcomes. However, in real life, cooperative acts are ambiguous and happen in noisy environments in which individuals can have multiple goals, visibility is reduced, and reputation systems may differ. This study examined how reputation within a virtual environment affects fairness in material allocations and trust in information exchange, in a three-actors interaction game in which each player had an incentive to deceive the others. We compared the results of two experimental conditions, one in which informers could be evaluated, and one without reputational opportunities. A reputational system appeared to enhance both trust and fairness even within a virtual environment under anonymous condition. We tested adolescents and adults finding that they were consistently more generous when visibility was increased, but they showed significantly different patterns in resources allocation and information exchange. Male and female participants, across ages, showed other interesting differences. These findings suggest that reputational effects increase fairness and trust even in a noisy, ambiguous and uncertain environment, but this effect is modulated by age and gender.

Suggested Citation

  • Mirko Duradoni & Mario Paolucci & Franco Bagnoli & Andrea Guazzini, 2018. "Fairness and Trust in Virtual Environments: The Effects of Reputation," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-15, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jftint:v:10:y:2018:i:6:p:50-:d:151618
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    Cited by:

    1. Stefania Collodi & Sara Panerati & Enrico Imbimbo & Federica Stefanelli & Mirko Duradoni & Andrea Guazzini, 2018. "Personality and Reputation: A Complex Relationship in Virtual Environments," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Meng-Hsiang Hsu & Chun-Ming Chang & Shing-Ling Wu, 2020. "RE-examining the Effect of Online Social Support on Subjective Well-Being: The Moderating Role of Experience," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Mirko Duradoni & Stefania Collodi & Serena Coppolino Perfumi & Andrea Guazzini, 2021. "Reviewing Stranger on the Internet: The Role of Identifiability through “Reputation” in Online Decision Making," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-12, April.
    4. Stefania Collodi & Maria Fiorenza & Andrea Guazzini & Mirko Duradoni, 2020. "How Reputation Systems Change the Psychological Antecedents of Fairness in Virtual Environments," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, August.
    5. José Manuel Ortiz-Marcos & María Tomé-Fernández & Christian Fernández-Leyva, 2021. "Cyberbullying Analysis in Intercultural Educational Environments Using Binary Logistic Regressions," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Annamaria Di Fabio & Letizia Palazzeschi & Mirko Duradoni, 2019. "Intrapreneurial Self-Capital Mediates the Connectedness to Nature Effect on Well-Being at Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-11, November.

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