Background

Participants played the trust game – all as Senders. We previously collected Receivers’ responses to pipe into these surveys.

In the current study, participants did the following:
1. Completed individual difference measures: CWV, general trust, and perspective taking (from the IRI_PT).
2. Read instructions of the trust game. They received $10 in their account. They can choose to forward any amount they choose to the receiver. That amount is then tripled, and the receiver can decide how much they want to return to the sender. Receivers indicated in advance how much they will return for every amount the Sender sent.
3. Then, Senders were randomly assigned a Receiver. They read that receiver’s short description of what they enjoy doing for work.
4. Participants in the PT condition were then asked to “step into the Receiver’s shoes” and write a few sentences on what is going through their mind in this game. Those in the control condition were just shown a blank screen.
5. Then, they indicated how much they wish to forward.
6. Then, they predicted how much their Receiver would send back for every hypothetical amount that they forwarded.
7. And finally, they answered some questions about how they feel about the exchange and how they think the Receiver felt.

Attention checks

Before we keep going, let’s see how many passed attention checks.
att_1: If you, as Sender, forwarded $5 to the Receiver, how much would the Receiver then have in their account?
att_2: If the Receiver had 15 dollars in their account and returned 6 dollars to you as the Sender, how much would the Receiver end up with?
att_3: Please select Somewhat Disagree.

## `summarise()` has grouped output by 'att_1', 'att_2'. You can override using
## the `.groups` argument.
att_1 att_2 att_3 N
0 1 1 4
1 0 0 1
1 0 1 15
1 1 0 5
1 1 1 174

Great. That leaves us 174 participants who passed all three checks.

Demographics

Race

race N Perc
asian 12 6.90
black 18 10.34
hispanic 9 5.17
multiracial 7 4.02
white 123 70.69
NA 5 2.87

Gender

gender N Perc
man 115 66.09
woman 52 29.89
NA 7 4.02

Age

age_mean age_sd
39.27011 11.74446

Education

edu N Perc
GED 44 25.29
2yearColl 18 10.34
4yearColl 85 48.85
MA 19 10.92
PHD 5 2.87
NA 3 1.72

Income

Distributions of primary outcome variables

Amount forwarded

Predicted returns

Analysis

Correlation matrix

For everyone

For PT Condition

For Control Condition

Condition -> Amount forwarded

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 5.02 3.82
PT 6.47 3.59


t(169.33) = -2.57, p = .011, d = -0.39

Alright. We got our main effect. That’s great. Let’s keep going.

Condition -> Predicted return

30 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 9.71 6.79
PT 11.91 5.88


t(171.70) = -2.30, p = .023, d = -0.35

27 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 8.26 5.91
PT 10.25 5.24


t(171.25) = -2.35, p = .020, d = -0.35

24 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 7.17 5.13
PT 9.08 4.67


t(170.60) = -2.56, p = .011, d = -0.39

21 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 6.19 4.55
PT 7.66 3.95


t(171.66) = -2.28, p = .024, d = -0.34

18 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 5.24 3.74
PT 6.41 3.36


t(170.95) = -2.16, p = .032, d = -0.33

15 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 4.22 2.91
PT 5.05 2.84


t(167.55) = -1.90, p = .059, d = -0.29

12 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.81 2.54
PT 3.52 2.51


t(166.94) = -1.84, p = .067, d = -0.28

9 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 1.74 1.95
PT 2.22 2.09


t(161.38) = -1.55, p = .123, d = -0.24

6 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 1.11 1.40
PT 1.44 1.58


t(157.41) = -1.48, p = .142, d = -0.23

3 Dollars

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 0.46 0.71
PT 0.61 0.79


t(158.67) = -1.25, p = .212, d = -0.19

Alright. The effects are there, and they start emerging at the $18 mark. Cool.

Condition * Confidence -> Predicted return

We also asked how confident participants are in their estimate. Let’s see if that moderates the relationship between condition and predicted return.

30 Dollars

(#tab:unnamed-chunk-36)
**
Predictor \(b\) 95% CI \(t\) \(\mathit{df}\) \(p\)
Intercept 9.59 [6.37, 12.81] 5.88 170 < .001
CondPT 2.25 [-2.66, 7.17] 0.91 170 .366
Confidence 0.04 [-1.06, 1.14] 0.08 170 .937
CondPT \(\times\) Confidence -0.02 [-1.66, 1.62] -0.02 170 .981

Condition * CWV -> Amount forwarded

(#tab:unnamed-chunk-38)
**
Predictor \(b\) 95% CI \(t\) \(\mathit{df}\) \(p\)
Intercept 8.12 [5.95, 10.30] 7.37 170 < .001
CondPT 1.26 [-1.90, 4.42] 0.79 170 .432
CWV -1.14 [-1.90, -0.39] -2.98 170 .003
CondPT \(\times\) CWV 0.09 [-1.00, 1.18] 0.16 170 .870

Condition * Trust -> Amount forwarded

(#tab:unnamed-chunk-40)
**
Predictor \(b\) 95% CI \(t\) \(\mathit{df}\) \(p\)
Intercept 1.89 [-0.14, 3.91] 1.84 170 .067
CondPT 3.64 [0.65, 6.63] 2.41 170 .017
Trust 0.78 [0.31, 1.24] 3.28 170 .001
CondPT \(\times\) Trust -0.54 [-1.24, 0.16] -1.53 170 .128

hmm, ok. CWV doesn’t give us much, but generalized trust is trending in the direction we’d expect. Looks like PT brings the cynics closer to the non-cynics.

Condition * Trust -> pred_30

(#tab:unnamed-chunk-42)
**
Predictor \(b\) 95% CI \(t\) \(\mathit{df}\) \(p\)
Intercept 4.86 [1.41, 8.31] 2.78 170 .006
CondPT 2.83 [-2.26, 7.92] 1.10 170 .274
Trust 1.20 [0.40, 2.00] 2.97 170 .003
CondPT \(\times\) Trust -0.14 [-1.32, 1.05] -0.23 170 .820
Call:
lm(formula = pred_30 ~ c ond * tr ust, data = df_p ttg_elg)

Residuals: Min 1Q Median 3Q Max -12.484 -3.817 1.451 3.580 16.645

Coefficients: Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)
(Intercept) 4.8622 1.7467 2.784 0.00599 condPT 2.8315 2.5797 1.098 0.27392
trust 1.2013 0.4038 2.975 0.00336 condPT:trust -0.1368 0.6016 -0.227 0.82045
— Signif. codes: 0 ‘’ 0.001 ’’ 0.01 ’’ 0.05 ‘.’ 0.1 ’ ’ 1

Residual standard error: 6.169 on 170 degrees of freedom Multiple R-squared: 0.1056, Adjusted R-squared: 0.08978 F-statistic: 6.688 on 3 and 170 DF, p-value: 0.0002708

Condition * Trait PT -> Amount forwarded

(#tab:unnamed-chunk-44)
**
Predictor \(b\) 95% CI \(t\) \(\mathit{df}\) \(p\)
Intercept 7.00 [3.53, 10.48] 3.98 170 < .001
CondPT -3.11 [-8.27, 2.05] -1.19 170 .236
TraitPT -0.50 [-1.35, 0.35] -1.15 170 .251
CondPT \(\times\) TraitPT 1.16 [-0.12, 2.43] 1.78 170 .076

Not sure what to make of this. If the interaction and simple slopes are real (and not just a fluke), then it looks like perspective-taking in negatively correlated with giving in the control condition, but positively correlated with it in the PT condition. So, if you’re a good perspective-taker, taking someone else’s perspective leads to more trusting/prosocial behavior. Alright, I’ll leave it for now. Don’t want to speculate too much.

Condition -> Guilt

Regardless of your actual choice, imagine that you sent $5 or less to the Receiver. How guilty would you feel for sending less than half the amount you were initially given?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.14 1.27
PT 1.89 1.05


t(172.00) = 1.43, p = .155, d = 0.21

Condition -> Glee

Regardless of your actual choice, imagine that you sent $5 or less to the Receiver. How pleased would you feel about sending less than half the amount you were initially given?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.27 1.29
PT 2.14 1.08


t(171.99) = 0.75, p = .456, d = 0.11

Condition -> Compassion

To what extent was your decision about the amount to forward driven by compassion for the Receiver?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.52 1.31
PT 2.53 1.36


t(164.09) = -0.08, p = .938, d = -0.01

Condition -> Self-interest

To what extent was your decision driven by wanting to maximize your own possible earnings for yourself?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 3.26 1.41
PT 3.47 1.36


t(168.27) = -0.98, p = .330, d = -0.15

Condition -> Perceived Guilt

Regardless of your actual choice, imagine you sent half or more of your initial $10 to the Receiver. How guilty do you think they would feel about keeping all of that money for themselves (as opposed to returning some of it to you)?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.07 1.18
PT 2.61 1.20


t(164.98) = -2.94, p = .004, d = -0.45

Condition -> Perceived Glee

Regardless of your actual choice, imagine you sent half or more of your initial $10 to the Receiver. How pleased do you think they would feel about keeping all of that money for themselves (as opposed to returning some of it to you)?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 3.06 1.23
PT 2.84 1.32


t(161.03) = 1.17, p = .245, d = 0.18

Condition -> Perceived Compassion

To what extent do you think your Receiver’s decision about the amount to return to you were driven by compassion for you?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.40 1.29
PT 2.52 1.21


t(169.62) = -0.63, p = .532, d = -0.09

Condition -> Perceived Self-interest

To what extent do you think your Receiver’s decision was driven by wanting to maximize their own possible earnings for themself?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 3.58 1.25
PT 3.49 1.34


t(161.70) = 0.43, p = .667, d = 0.07

Condition -> Perceived Similarity with Receiver

Based on what you know, how similar do you feel to the Receiver?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 3.21 0.94
PT 3.22 1.03


t(159.90) = -0.03, p = .975, d < 0.01

Condition -> Liking the Receiver

Based on what you know, how much do you like the Receiver?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 3.40 0.67
PT 3.47 0.77


t(157.01) = -0.62, p = .537, d = -0.10

Condition -> Individuation of the Receiver

How much do you feel like you have an image of the Receiver as an individual person?

cond Mean SD
CONTROL 2.68 1.31
PT 2.85 1.27


t(168.09) = -0.83, p = .406, d = -0.13

Mediation Models

Condition: 1 = PT; 0 = CONTROL
everything else is z-scored

Condition -> pred_30 -> Amount forwarded

a = 0.34 (p = 0.025); b = 0.53 (p = 0); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.2 (p = 0.119).

Condition -> Guilt_you -> Amount forwarded

a = -0.21 (p = 0.163); b = 0.34 (p = 0); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.45 (p = 0.002).

Condition -> Glee_you -> Amount forwarded

a = -0.11 (p = 0.463); b = -0.31 (p = 0); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.35 (p = 0.016).

Condition -> Compassion_you -> Amount forwarded

a = 0.01 (p = 0.938); b = 0.3 (p = 0); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.38 (p = 0.009).

Condition -> Self-Interest_you -> Amount forwarded

a = 0.15 (p = 0.332); b = -0.14 (p = 0.06); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.4 (p = 0.007).

Condition -> Guilt_op -> Amount forwarded

a = 0.44 (p = 0.004); b = 0.25 (p = 0.001); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.27 (p = 0.07).

Condition -> Glee_op -> Amount forwarded

a = -0.18 (p = 0.241); b = -0.12 (p = 0.114); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.36 (p = 0.017).

Condition -> Compassion_op -> Amount forwarded

a = 0.1 (p = 0.534); b = 0.26 (p = 0.001); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.36 (p = 0.014).

Condition -> Self-Interest_op -> Amount forwarded

a = -0.07 (p = 0.665); b = -0.21 (p = 0.004); direct = 0.38 (p = 0.011); indirect = 0.37 (p = 0.013).

Open-text responses

forwarded PT
0 The receiver is thinking about how good it would feel to have the money in their hands. They are thinking they could have $30 and not have to return any money to me and there is nothing that I can do about it. They would have all the power once I send them the money.
0 i would like for the other person to send me all the money. i want to make as much as possible and it would be great if they sent it all so i could keep it all
0 They would probably feel disappointed. They would want some money and hope that I would send them some.
0 They are thinking about how much they can make and if they should share with the sender. They are debating if they should be nice or greedy
0 As the Receiver, they’re hoping I am not a greedy jerk and will send most–if not all–of the money to them. Of course they’ll be sure to share at least half of that back with the Sender…
0 The receiver will keep as much money for themselves as possible because there is no incentive to share any money they are given.
0 I think since they enjoy sales, data, and analytics, then if they truly understand the task of the sender, then they’ll be moderately generous, at least paying a 40/60 share in favor of themselves. I believe they are likely to be reasoned with, and enjoy the game for that reason.
0 I would think that the receiver is hoping for some trust and generosity on the part of the sender. They would want a chance to receive some funds.
0 I feel obligated about sending money back as I’d really just like to keep it all. I’ve played games like this before where I was screwed over and I hate that feeling, however, I’d like to get more money too. That’s if they even send me anything.
0 I’m thinking I hope they’ll send the maximum amount so that I can just keep it all and screw them over to make more money.
0 It’s important to craft a bio that reflects your professional accomplishments, skills, and aspirations, while also giving a glimpse into your personal interests and values. By sharing a story or anecdote that highlights your unique experiences or passions, you can make your bio more engaging and memorable. Remember to keep it concise, professional, and focused on your career goals.
2 I am currently in the position of the Receiver, considering how to make the most of this opportunity while ensuring a fair outcome. I wish to express gratitude for the initial amount sent by the Sender, but I also need to ensure that I receive a reasonable amount for myself. It is essential to balance trust and self-interest when deciding how much to return to the Sender.
2 They are probably generous if their statement is truthful. However, I am not, in these games I give, but in a way that us more beneficial to me.
3 I feel as if the Receiver may be nervous about the amount they get. Being a creative person and connecting to emotion through art I would imagine them as a equal and giving person.
3 Unless the Sender gives me all of their money, there’s really no reason to send anything back. They should have kept some of their money if they wanted to have any. It doesn’t really seem important to have an exact 50/50 split.
3 They’re thinking that I will probably send them an amount and if they’re aware that I started with $10 then if it’s about even then they’ll keep what I send. However, if I send a little extra to them then they won’t mind sending me back a little extra to help both of our amounts equal each other.
3 I would truly be grateful for whatever the sender gives to me especially since it is tripled. Since I really like to help people, I would definitely be sure to send a fair amount of money back to them to even things out and show my appreciation..
4 The person that you matched up with me for purposes of this survey may be a young student trying to earn gas money from their work on Amazon, Prolific, and other online sources of spare cash.
4 They are thinking that this is an interesting game to figure out. they are hoping that they are one of the participants that is picked to win real money
5 i have no idea. hopefully they are thinking of being generous. and that they’ll send some money back
5 I think they are thinking about how they hope someone sends them something. I imagine they feel like they can’t rely on anyone they might not expect anything.
5 They would probably be considering that the sender should send them as much as possible. This way, the money can be tripled and then they can send back half, to make it as equal a distribution as possible.
5 They are probably wary of participating and trusting in a stranger. The Receiver is probably trying to decide whether to take a chance on how much money to return versus what was sent to them.
5 The receiver sounds like a person that I would likely befriend in real life. I think they are hopeful that the other person will send them some kind of benefit.
5 They want to be perceived as fair and are deciding how much money to return back to the sender and how much to keep for themselves
5 I think this person is trustworthy based on their response. They seem like an organized and productive member of society. I think that they would want to fair and honest. However, they may be tempted to keep the full amount in the back of their mind.
5 Stepping into the Reeiver’s shoes, I would send back $5 to even things out. That, to me, seems to be the fair thing to do.
5 As the Receiver, they might be feeling a mix of curiosity and cautiousness. They would likely weigh the potential to keep more money for themselves against the desire to maintain a fair and cooperative outcome. The decision on how much to return to the Sender might be influenced by their trust in the Sender’s choices and the hope for reciprocity.
5 This person seems logical and likes to learn. I imagine they are processing the information and deciding how to best benefit both parties involved
5 They may be thinking to return what they think is fair to them and to the receiver. They may be thinking to keep a bit more for themselves.
5 To me, I think they are thinking about how much I will be able to sacrifice and trust them with. They are also thinking how much they will give back to me.
5 Taking a step into the shoes of the receiver of the receiver in this game is a difficult task as there is much to consider. The receiver may feel a sense of responsibility to return the money that was sent to them, as they may feel obligated to honor the sender’s trust. At the same time, they may feel a sense of guilt for not putting enough of their own funds into the game.
5 in my opinion to they are thinking whether to trust the sender or not. they are thinking about how much the sender is going to send. to be honest i would think the sender is keeping the full amount of money.
5 They are probably nervous because they would want me to be fair. I think they are trying to calculate or predict what I would do.
6 I believe that they will be thinking about how much money they can keep for themself and they won’t be thinking about returning money to me. I think they will be in it to benefit them and they won’t be concerned about me.
6 I feel like they would return a good amount of money back to the sender if the sender is willing to send over 5 dollars. I don’t think this is a selfish person and would keep all of the money
6 I think that they are considering what amount of money would be fair to return to me based on what I will send them. I think they are balancing considerations of fairness with their personal need for money.
6 I think they would be appreciative of the money I send them. According to the work they like to do they are on the lower end of the income scale.
6 They are thinking that they would like to keep as much of the bonus as possible but that it might be better to share it. They would consider how much they are willing to share but keep at least an equal or higher amount.
7 I think my receiver is doubtful in me as a sender. They don’t have any information about me to give them faith that I will do the “right thing”, and neither do I. I hope they will at least return my initial investment to me.
7 I think they must be wondering what kind of person is on the other computer. They might feel totally at my mercy and are crossing their fingers that the other person will be generous with what they send. They probably feel a good deal of pent of anticipation and anxiety over it.
7 I would think this person would be generous if the receiver is always generous to with giving a reasonable amount of money to them or sometimes they just want to do good even if the receiver don’t give much
8 the receiver will definitely not want to return more to the sender so they can keep for themselves which is not really good
8 Well, if this person is being honest, they are probably thinking that they would like to be helpful to others, especially if they are helpful in return. So I think this person might just be inclined to share the money they are given from the sender.
8 I like helping people, so returning some of the money to the Sender is appealing. This person trusts me by sending me some money. Since I started with nothing and the amount sent tripled, it is reasonable to be generous enough to return part of the money.
9 Provided they’re not lying, I think they’d probably be thinking logically about the configuration of the study, how to maximize profits for everyone, and hoping that I send the full $10 so they’d send $15 back and keep $15.
9 I imagine that this person is hoping that the sender will give them money. I think they are planning to return some of the money to the sender. They want to keep money for themselves but also give some away.
9 As the receiver, I am feeling hopeful that the sender will actually send money to me. I am feeling skeptical that they will. I am worried what to do if they send more than a few dollars because then I might be expected to return some of it. Even though I will never meet this person, I am supposed to feel guilty for not returning some money back.
10 I think that the receiver is a quite but very polite person. They most likely are very giving and compassionate.
10 I think they are hoping I send them something. I hope that they would return half to me. I really don’t know though because their statement doesn’t tell me much.
10 They probably prefer their own company to anyone else’s, but they’re not a bad person at all. They have an artistic temperament and like to be left alone to create things.
10 I believe in equality and sharing. We both deserve to maximize our earnings here. This is way too many letters to require
10 Taking the time to be considerate of others and think about how my decisions could benefit them is truly important to me. I have to remember that even the smallest good deed can have a ripple effect that could lead to a cycle of more good deeds. With this in mind, I should return a reasonable amount to the Sender if they trust me.
10 How much should I send? What if they put it all in, would an even split be good? I definitely don’t want to betray a stranger’s trust randomly.
10 I feel as though the best option, for both of us is to max amount, our mutual pay out. I’m willing to trust the receiver, and I would hope that they would be willing to return that trust and positive energy back to me.
10 They are thinking hurry up so I can finish the game. I wonder if they are selfish in all aspects in life or just with time
10 I believe the receiver will be concerned that the sender might not share anything with them. I think they will also be considering how much they’re willing to return to the sender based on what they receive.
10 I think that they’re feeling hopeful that they’ll get a large amount sent to them, and if they do then they’d want to be generous in return. I think they want to create a lot for the world, and as such they do need money but also they like to give to others when they can.
10 If they send me anything at all, I would split the money equally. I’m sure they’re hopeful of getting a large amount of money. Hopefully they are fair with what they send back. But if not, then it’s fine anyway.
10 I would hope they are kind given that they work with children. I would also hope they are smart to realize we could both come out with equal amounts and send back half of what is received.
10 They are probably thinking the sender won’t give me anything just to ensure they end up with something.
10 As the Receiver, I find myself immersed in deciphering the sender’s intentions behind the vague description provided. I’m intrigued yet cautious, attempting to balance the desire to participate and contribute with the uncertainty of the situation. I want to ensure fairness in returning an appropriate amount of money to the Sender, reflecting my interpretation of the task’s value while also considering potential outcomes.
10 The receiver is probably wondering how much I as the sender am going to send to them. They’re probably thinking of what they’re going to do, like how much money they’re going to send back with whatever I give them.
10 I am willing to return an amount in which the outcome would be fair to both parties. I will probably send the receiver half of what they send me.
10 Assuming they’re being honest, this sounds like a good person who enjoys helping others. I would imagine they’re hoping the sender is generous and they will probably respond in kind.
10 I am hoping the sender will send me all of the money so I can send back half. This seems like the best way to both leave with more money.
10 That they need money. As much as they can get while keeping it fair. Being a line cook dosen’t pay well.
10 They’re making a decent amount of money with their YouTube job. They want to do the right and moral thing especially considering that they make a decent amount of money.
10 I think the receiver has does not feel good about their position, but they have a take what comes attitude. so they would be annoyed to be paired up with someone very selfish, but they won’t feel angry even if the get burned. I think they are probably thinking of sending back what is fair, but apart of them may want to take advantage of someone who is fair because they don’t do it often.
10 I think this person is thinking about how much money I would be willing to share with them. I believe this person will want to be fair with me, and is willing to share some of the money they will receive from me. I also think this person is open and honest.
10 I get a feeling that the receiver is an honest person that has values and is caring about things around him. I have a good feeling about this and I believe that he would probably be contributing the same back to me as I give him, so O am fairly sure that he would give meno fear of giving him extra money.
10 The receiver is very much like I am when it comes to learning and experiencing new things. They are curious and would be opened to sharing equally what someone, like me, has entrusted them with.
10 My best guess is that the receiver will want to send back the amount that will make both accounts equal. So, if I send all $10, the receiver will probably send back $15.
10 I’m sure they are considering whether they will receive any money at all from the sender since the sender can send 0. I’d imagine they are also considering what they themselves would do in the situation of sender. Hopefully they will consider a situation in which both of us can benefit if the sender sends over all the money and they can split a larger profit.
10 I’m waiting to see what the Sender does, how generous and trusting they will be. I’m interested in that, but that won’t affect my response. I will return half of what’s given to me.
10 They are probably going to analyze and interpret the amount of money they get from me. Then, they will use that information to decide how much, if any to return.
10 I believe they would send back half, maybe more, of what they received. They seem like the type that would want to reciprocate the kindness they have received.
10 You can trust me to do the right thing. I am a fair person and will not cheat you. You will not be disappointed.
10 As a line cook, I am thinking about how I can finish this game as quickly as possible so that I can get paid. I really have no vested interest, but I am willing to play by the rules. I have no reason to be uncooperative, unless there is an opportunity for a considerable monetary incentive. This is not one of those cases.