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Unfakeable Facial Configurations Affect Strategic Choices in Trust Games with or without Information about Past Behavior

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  • Constantin Rezlescu
  • Brad Duchaine
  • Christopher Y Olivola
  • Nick Chater

Abstract

Background: Many human interactions are built on trust, so widespread confidence in first impressions generally favors individuals with trustworthy-looking appearances. However, few studies have explicitly examined: 1) the contribution of unfakeable facial features to trust-based decisions, and 2) how these cues are integrated with information about past behavior. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using highly controlled stimuli and an improved experimental procedure, we show that unfakeable facial features associated with the appearance of trustworthiness attract higher investments in trust games. The facial trustworthiness premium is large for decisions based solely on faces, with trustworthy identities attracting 42% more money (Study 1), and remains significant though reduced to 6% when reputational information is also available (Study 2). The face trustworthiness premium persists with real (rather than virtual) currency and when higher payoffs are at stake (Study 3). Conclusions/Significance: Our results demonstrate that cooperation may be affected not only by controllable appearance cues (e.g., clothing, facial expressions) as shown previously, but also by features that are impossible to mimic (e.g., individual facial structure). This unfakeable face trustworthiness effect is not limited to the rare situations where people lack any information about their partners, but survives in richer environments where relevant details about partner past behavior are available.

Suggested Citation

  • Constantin Rezlescu & Brad Duchaine & Christopher Y Olivola & Nick Chater, 2012. "Unfakeable Facial Configurations Affect Strategic Choices in Trust Games with or without Information about Past Behavior," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(3), pages 1-6, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0034293
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034293
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    Cited by:

    1. Abraham, Diya & Greiner, Ben & Stephanides, Marianne, 2023. "On the Internet you can be anyone: An experiment on strategic avatar choice in online marketplaces," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 251-261.
    2. Mattarozzi, Katia & Colonnello, Valentina & De Gioia, Francesco & Todorov, Alexander, 2017. "I care, even after the first impression: Facial appearance-based evaluations in healthcare context," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 68-72.
    3. Adam Zylbersztejn & Zakaria Babutsidze & Nobuyuki Hanaki, 2021. "Predicting trustworthiness across cultures: An experiment," Post-Print hal-03432600, HAL.
    4. Li, Jiyuan & Li, Zihui & Zhang, Min, 2023. "CFOs’ facial trustworthiness and bank loan contracts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 332-357.
    5. repec:cup:judgdm:v:16:y:2021:i:4:p:844-897 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Duan, Yang & Hsieh, Tien-Shih & Wang, Ray R. & Wang, Zhihong, 2020. "Entrepreneurs' facial trustworthiness, gender, and crowdfunding success," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    7. Zeyang Chen & Yu-Jane Liu & Juanjuan Meng & Zeng Wang, 2023. "What’s in a Face? An Experiment on Facial Information and Loan-Approval Decision," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(4), pages 2263-2283, April.
    8. Billur Aksoy & Catherine C. Eckel & Rick K. Wilson, 2018. "Can I Rely on You?," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14, October.
    9. Todd Larson Landes & Piers Douglas Howe & Yoshihisa Kashima, 2021. "A hierarchy of mindreading strategies in joint action participation," Judgment and Decision Making, Society for Judgment and Decision Making, vol. 16(4), pages 844-897, July.
    10. Chen, Yuzhou & Sealy, Chezham L. & Swanquist, Quinn T. & Whited, Robert L., 2024. "Audit partner facial traits, gender, and career outcomes," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    11. Gary Bente & Thomas Dratsch & Kai Kaspar & Tabea Häßler & Oliver Bungard & Ahmad Al-Issa, 2014. "Cultures of Trust: Effects of Avatar Faces and Reputation Scores on German and Arab Players in an Online Trust-Game," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-7, June.
    12. Balafoutas, Loukas & Fornwagner, Helena & Grosskopf, Brit, 2023. "Predictably competitive? What faces can tell us about competitive behavior," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 931-940.
    13. Hsieh, Tien-Shih & Kim, Jeong-Bon & Wang, Ray R. & Wang, Zhihong, 2020. "Seeing is believing? Executives' facial trustworthiness, auditor tenure, and audit fees," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1).
    14. Dwenger, Nadja & Lohse, Tim, 2019. "Do individuals successfully cover up their lies? Evidence from a compliance experiment," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 74-87.

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