The medium or the message? Communication relevance and richness in trust games

Subjects communicated prior to playing trust games; the richness of the communication media and the topics of conversation were manipulated. Communication richness failed to produce significant differences in first-mover investments. However, the topics of conversation made a significant difference: the amounts sent were considerably higher in the unrestricted communication conditions than in the restricted communication and no-communication conditions. Most importantly, we find that first-movers’ expectations of second-movers’ reciprocation are influenced by communication and strongly predict their levels of investment.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: SYNTHESE
• Authors: Cristina Bicchieri, Azi Lev-On, Alex Chavez
• Keywords: Communication, Significant Difference, SYNTHESE 2010, Unrestricted Communication Conditions