Trust among the Avatars: A Virtual World Experiment, with and without Textual and Visual Cues

C-Tier
Journal: Southern Economic Journal
Year: 2011
Volume: 78
Issue: 1
Pages: 63-86

Authors (2)

Stephen Atlas (not in RePEc) Louis Putterman (Brown University)

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We invited “residents” of a virtual world who vary in real‐world age and occupation to play a trust game with stakes comparable to “in‐world” wages. In different treatments, the lab wall was adorned with an emotively suggestive photograph, a suggestive text was added to the instructions, or both a photo and text were added. We find high levels of trust and reciprocity that appear still higher for non‐student and older subjects. Variation of results by treatment suggests that both photographic and textual cues influenced the level of trust but not that of trustworthiness.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:wly:soecon:v:78:y:2011:i:1:p:63-86
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29