Cross-Cultural Differences in Relationship- and Group-Based Trust

Two experiments explored differences in depersonalized trust (trust toward a relatively unknown target person) across cultures. Based on a recent theoretical framework that postulates predominantly different bases for group behaviors in Western cultures versus Eastern cultures, it was predicted that Americans would tend to trust people primarily based on whether they shared category memberships; however, trust for Japanese was expected to be based on the likelihood of sharing direct or indirect interpersonal links. Results supported these predictions. In both Study 1 (questionnaire study) and Study 2 (online money allocation game), Americans trusted ingroup members more than outgroup members; however, the existence of a potential indirect relationship link increased trust for outgroup members more for Japanese than for Americans. Implications for understanding group processes across cultures are discussed.

[1]  Eric J. Johnson,et al.  Let's Get Personal: An International Examination of the Influence of Communication, Culture and Social Distance on Other Regarding Preferences , 2006 .

[2]  J. P. Morgan,et al.  Design and Analysis: A Researcher's Handbook , 2005, Technometrics.

[3]  H. Tajfel,et al.  The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. , 2004 .

[4]  C. Sedikides,et al.  Pancultural Self-Enhancement , 2002 .

[5]  W. Gardner,et al.  Circle of Friends or Members of a Group? Sex Differences in Relational and Collective Attachment to Groups , 2003 .

[6]  M. Yuki,et al.  Intergroup comparison versus intragroup relationships: A cross-cultural examination of social identity theory in North American and East Asian cultural contexts. , 2003 .

[7]  A. van Knippenberg,et al.  It takes two to mimic: behavioral consequences of self-construals. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[8]  R. Dawes,et al.  Swift Neighbors and Persistent Strangers: A Cross‐Cultural Investigation of Trust and Reciprocity in Social Exchange1 , 2002, American Journal of Sociology.

[9]  M. Aoki,et al.  Toward a Comparative Institutional Analysis , 2002 .

[10]  Tom R. Tyler,et al.  Why do people rely on others? Social identity and social aspects of trust. , 2001 .

[11]  Michael A. Hogg,et al.  Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Group Processes , 2001 .

[12]  K. Cook.  Trust in Society , 2001 .

[13]  D. R. Lehman,et al.  Culture and Positive Illusions in Close Relationships: How My Relationships Are Better than Yours , 2000 .

[14]  Glynis M. Breakwell,et al.  The Distinctiveness Principle: Identity, Meaning, and the Bounds of Cultural Relativity , 2000 .

[15]  T. Yamagishi,et al.  The Group as the Container of Generalized Reciprocity , 2000 .

[16]  H. Markus,et al.  Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis. , 1999 .

[17]  K. Hwang,et al.  Filial Piety and Loyalty: Two Types of Social Identification in Confucianism , 1999 .

[18]  M. Lepper,et al.  Rethinking the value of choice: a cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[19]  Roderick M. Kramer,et al.  Trust and distrust in organizations: emerging perspectives, enduring questions. , 1999, Annual review of psychology.

[20]  M. Bond,et al.  Social psychology: Across cultures, 2nd ed. , 1999 .

[21]  Toshio Yamagishi,et al.  In-group bias and culture of collectivism* , 1998 .

[22]  M. Macy,et al.  The evolution of trust and cooperation between strangers: A computational model. , 1998 .

[23]  E. Ostrom.  A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action: Presidential Address, American Political Science Association, 1997 , 1998, American Political Science Review.

[24]  Steven J. Sherman,et al.  Perceiving social groups: The importance of the entitativity continuum. , 1998 .

[25]  R. Nisbett,et al.  The cultural matrix of social psychology , 1998 .

[26]  S. Cross,et al.  Models of the self: self-construals and gender. , 1997, Psychological bulletin.

[27]  D. R. Lehman,et al.  The cultural construction of self-enhancement: an examination of group-serving biases. , 1997, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[28]  M. Brewer,et al.  Who is this "We"? Levels of collective identity and self representations. , 1996 .

[29]  D. R. Lehman,et al.  Cultural variation in unrealistic optimism: Does the West feel more vulnerable than the East? , 1995 .

[30]  Deborah A. Prentice,et al.  Asymmetries in Attachments to Groups and to their Members: Distinguishing between Common-Identity and Common-Bond Groups , 1994 .

[31]  T. Yamagishi,et al.  Trust and commitment in the United States and Japan , 1994 .

[32]  M. Hogg.  Group Cohesiveness: A Critical Review and Some New Directions , 1993 .

[33]  D. Ho,et al.  Relational orientation in Asian social psychology. , 1993 .

[34]  Michael Harris Bond,et al.  Social Psychology Across Cultures , 1993 .

[35]  M. Karasawa,et al.  Toward an assessment of social identity: the structure of group identification and its effects on in-group evaluations. , 1991, The British journal of social psychology.

[36]  H. Markus,et al.  Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. , 1991 .

[37]  G. Keppel.  Design and analysis: A researcher's handbook, 3rd ed. , 1991 .

[38]  D. Mackie,et al.  Intergroup relations. , 2019, Annual review of psychology.

[39]  M. Hogg,et al.  Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. , 1989 .

[40]  Michael Harris Bond,et al.  The Cross-Cultural Challenge to Social Psychology , 1988 .

[41]  M. Bond,et al.  Social identity theory and the perception of intergroup relations in Hong Kong , 1988 .

[42]  P. Dasgupta.  Trust as a commodity , 1988 .

[43]  M. Bond,et al.  Group‐serving attributions across intergroup contexts: Cultural differences in the explanation of sex‐typed behaviours , 1985 .

[44]  M. Bond,et al.  The Confucian Paradigm of Man: A Sociological View , 1985 .

[45]  Edwin O. Reischauer,et al.  The Japanese : society , 1977 .

[46]  T. Lebra,et al.  Japanese patterns of behavior , 1976 .

[47]  S. Fiske,et al.  The Handbook of Social Psychology , 1935 .