Coye Cheshire

Trust Building via Risk Taking: A Cross-Societal Experiment

The role of risk taking in building trust relations has largely been overlooked in the burgeoning literature on trust in the social sciences; yet it is central to understanding how trust develops. We argue that a series of risk-taking behaviors is indispensable to building a trust relation. We conducted experiments in Japan and the United States to examine the independent and cross-cultural effects of risk taking on trust building. The results of these experiments indicate that the American participants took more risks than did the Japanese, supporting the general claim that Americans are inclined toward risk taking and trust building. Even so, the Americans were no better than the Japanese at improving the level of cooperation. The cumulative results of these experiments imply that risk taking is a critical element in trust building for Americans, but less so for the Japanese. Our results show clearly that it is important to distinguish trusting behavior from cooperation and to measure them separately if we are to study trust and trust building in relation to social cooperation.

The Social Psychological Effects of Feedback on the Production of Internet Information Pools

A growing number of systems on the Internet create what we call information pools, or collections of online information goods for public, club or private consumption. Examples of information pools include collaborative editing websites (e.g. Wikipedia), peer-to-peer file sharing networks (e.g., Napster), multimedia contribution sites (e.g. YouTube), and amorphous collections of commentary (e.g., blogs). In this study, we specifically focus on information pools that create a public good. Following current theory and research, we argue that extremely low costs of contribution combined with very large networks of distribution facilitate the production of online information pools—despite an abundance of free-riding behavior. This paper presents results from a series of Internet field experiments that examine the effects of various feedback mechanisms on repeat contributions to an information pool. We demonstrate that the social psychological benefits from gratitude, historical reminders of past behavior, and ranking of one’s contributions relative to those of others can significantly increase repeat contributions. In addition, the context in which individuals interact with the system may partially mitigate the positive effect of some types of feedback on contribution behavior. Resume The Social Psychological Effects of Feedback on the Production of Internet Information Pools A growing number of systems on the Internet create what we call information pools, or collections of online information goods for public, club or private consumption. Examples of information pools include collaborative editing websites (e.g. Wikipedia), peer-to-peer file sharing networks (e.g., Napster), multimedia contribution sites (e.g. YouTube), and amorphous collections of commentary (e.g., blogs). In this study, we specifically focus on information pools that create a public good. Following current theory and research, we argue that extremely low costs of contribution combined with very large networks of distribution facilitate the production of online information pools—despite an abundance of free-riding behavior. This paper presents results from a series of Internet field experiments that examine the effects of various feedback mechanisms on repeat contributions to an information pool. We demonstrate that the social psychological benefits from gratitude, historical reminders of past behavior, and ranking of one’s contributions relative to those of others can significantly increase repeat contributions. In addition, the context in which individuals interact with the system may partially mitigate the positive effect of some types of feedback on contribution behavior. Resumen Los Efectos Psicologicos y Sociales de la Retroalimentacion sobre la Produccion de Grupos de Informacion en el Internet Un numero creciente de sistemas en el Internet crean lo que nosotros llamamos Grupos de informacion, o colecciones de bienes de informacion online para el consumo publico, de club o privados. Ejemplos de grupos de informacion incluyen la colaboracion en la edicion de paginas del Internet (por ejemplo, Wikipedia), las redes de compartimiento de documentos entre los pares (por ejemplo, Napster), las contribuciones de sitios multimedia (por ejemplo, YouTube), y las colecciones amorfas de comentarios (por ejemplo, blogs). En este estudio, nos focalizamos especificamente en los grupos de informacion que crean bienes publicos. Siguiendo las teorias e investigaciones corrientes, proponemos que las contribuciones de extremado bajo costo combinado con las grandes redes de distribucion facilitan la produccion de grupos de informacion online—a pesar de la abundancia de comportamiento gratuito. Este articulo presenta resultados de una serie de experimentos de campo en Internet para examinar los efectos de varios mecanismos de retroalimentacion sobre las contribuciones reiteradas a un grupo de informacion. Demostramos que los beneficios sociales y psicologicos de la gratitud, recordatorios historicos del comportamiento pasado, y el rango de las contribuciones de algunos en relacion a aquellos otros puede incrementar significativamente las contribuciones repetidas. Ademas, el contexto en el cual los individuos interactuan con el sistema puede mitigar parcialmente el efecto positivo de algunos tipos de retroalimentacion sobre el comportamiento contributivo. ZhaiYao Yo yak

Selective Incentives and Generalized Information Exchange

The goal of this research is to understand how generalized exchange systems emerge when information, as the object of exchange, produces a collective good. When individuals contribute information for a collective benefit, it can create a group-generalized exchange system that involves a social dilemma. I argue that two properties of information, replication and high jointness of supply, are crucial for understanding the nature of the social dilemma in these exchange systems. Combined with low-cost contributions, these special features of information can allow social psychological selective incentives to significantly encourage cooperation. Experiments were conducted to examine the independent effects of two social psychological selective incentives (social approval and observational cooperation) on sharing behavior in a generalized information exchange system. The results indicate that observing high levels of cooperative behavior is beneficial in the short run, but ultimately it only leads to moderately higher levels of cooperation than when individuals cannot observe cooperative behavior. On the other hand, when individuals receive either high or low levels of social approval, it has a very positive, significant impact on cooperative behavior. This research has implications for real-world generalized information exchange systems such as those found on the Internet. In addition, the theory and results in this study can also be extended to public goods that share the features of low-costs contributions, replication, and high jointness of supply.

Does Trust Beget Trustworthiness? Trust and Trustworthiness in Two Games and Two Cultures: A Research Note.

An important unanswered question in the empirical literature on trust is whether trusting begets trustworthiness. In two experimental games, with Japanese and American participants, respectively, we compared trust and trustworthiness to provide an answer to this question. The trustee in the standard Trust Game knows that he or she is trusted, whereas the trustee in the Faith Game does not know whether or not this is the case. Except for this fact, the trustee faces the same choice in both situations. If the simple fact that one is trusted by someone else makes a person more trustworthy to the truster, then the trustee in the Trust Game should behave in a more trustworthy manner. Our results indicate that trust does not beget trustworthiness, at least in one-shot games. The results also indicate that trust and trustworthiness are two sides of the same coin but are quite distinct, partially replicating the recent findings of Buchan, Croson, and Dawes. American trusters were more trusting than their Japanese counterparts in the Trust Game, whereas American trustees were less trustworthy. The nationality difference in trust and trustworthiness is less pronounced in the Faith Game. We conclude that trust researchers should consider the limitations of one-shot games in studying the determinants of trust and trustworthiness.

Who's Right and Who Writes: People, Profiles, Contacts, and Replies in Online Dating

In this analysis of profiles and messaging behavior on a major online dating service, we find that, consistent with predictions of evolutionary psychology, women as compared to men state more restrictive preferences for their ideal date. Furthermore, women contact and reply to others more selectively than men. Additionally, we identify connections among messaging behavior, textual self-descriptions in dating profiles, and relationship-relevant traits such as neuroticism.

“Out of My League”: A Real-World Test of the Matching Hypothesis

The matching hypothesis predicts that individuals on the dating market will assess their own self-worth and select partners whose social desirability approximately equals their own. It is often treated as well established, despite a dearth of empirical evidence to support it. In the current research, the authors sought to address conceptual and methodological inconsistencies in the extant literature and to examine whether matching occurs as defined by Walster et al. and more generally. Using data collected in the laboratory and from users of a popular online dating site, the authors found evidence for matching based on self-worth, physical attractiveness, and popularity, but to different degrees and not always at the same stage of the dating process.

Trust and Transitions in Modes of Exchange

In this study, we investigate the relationship between uncertainty and trust in exogenous shifts in modes of social exchange (i.e., those that are not initiated by the individuals in a given exchange system). We explore how transitions from a high uncertainty environment (reciprocal exchange) to lower-uncertainty environments (nonbinding or binding negotiated exchange) affect the level of trust among exchange partners. Our results show that if cooperation rates are high before and after a change in mode of exchange, trust declines when the uncertainty created by the mode of exchange decreases. Furthermore, we find that trust depends on both the amount of uncertainty inherent in the form of the exchange and the level of cooperation before and after the transition.

Indebtedness and reciprocity in local online exchange

Many existing and emerging online systems allow people to share content and coordinate the exchange of goods and favors in local geographic settings. We present a qualitative case study of user experiences concerning exchange and reciprocity in local online exchange. Findings from eleven in-depth interviews (containing forty-nine separate exchange experiences) reveal an aversion to indebtedness and several user behaviors that lessen these negative feelings: (1) offering small tokens of appreciation to exchange partners, (2) understanding and accepting the indirect nature of generalized exchange, (3) managing expectations by framing offers and requests carefully, (4) minimizing efforts needed in exchange processes, and (5) bartering and exchanging for a third party. The paper contributes to our understanding of emergent behaviors and norms in local online exchange systems. We discuss design implications from these empirical insights that can help alleviate the discomfort of indebtedness and better encourage and sustain participation in systems of indirect reciprocity.

Technology-mediated contributions: editing behaviors among new wikipedians

The power-law distribution of participation characterizes a wide variety of technology-mediated social participation (TMSP) systems, and Wikipedia is no exception. A minority of active contributors does most of the work. While the existence of a core of highly active contributors is well documented, how those individuals came to be so active is less well understood. In this study we extend prior research on TMSP and Wikipedia by examining in detail the characteristics of the revisions that new contributors make. In particular we focus on new users who maintain a minimum level of sustained activity during their first six months. We use content analysis of individual revisions as well as other quantitative techniques to examine three research questions regarding the effect of early diversification of activity, nature vs. nurture, and associations with later administrative and organizational activity. We present analyses that address each of these questions, and conclude with implications for our understanding of the progression of participation on Wikipedia and other TMSP systems.

The Emergence of Trust Networks under Uncertainty { Implications for Internet Interactions

Abstract Computer-mediated interaction on the Internet provides new opportunities to examine the links between reputation, risk, and the development of trust between individuals who engage in various types of exchange. In this article, we comment on the application of experimental sociological research to different types of computer-mediated social interactions, with particular attention to the emergence of what we call ‘trust networks’ (networks of those one views as trustworthy). Drawing on the existing categorization systems that have been used in experimental social psychology, we relate the various forms of computer-mediated exchange to selected findings from experimental research. We develop a simple typology based on the intersection of random versus fixed-partner social dilemma games, and repeated versus one-shot interaction situations. By crossing these two types of social dilemma games and two types of interaction situations, we show that many forms of Internet exchange can be categorized effectively into four mutually exclusive categories. The resulting classification system helps to integrate the existing research on t rust in experimental social psychology with the emerging field of computer-mediated exchange.