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Sex differences in trust and trustworthiness: A meta-analysis of the trust game and the gift-exchange game

Van Den Akker,Olmo R.
; 
van Assen,Marcel
; 
Van Vugt,Mark
; 
Wicherts,Jelte M.
Abstract
We present a meta-analytic review of the literature on sex differences in the trust game (174 effect sizes) and the related gift-exchange game (35 effect sizes). Based on parental investment theory and social role theory we expected men to be more trusting and women to be more trustworthy. Indeed, men were more trusting in the trust game (g = 0.22), yet we found no significant sex difference in trust in the gift-exchange game (g = 0.15). Regarding trustworthiness, we found no significant sex difference in the trust game (g = -0.04), and we found men, not women, to be more trustworthy in the gift-exchange game (g = 0.33). These results suggest that men send more money than women do when their money is going to be multiplied, thereby creating an efficiency gain. This so-called “male multiplier effect” may be explained by a stronger psychological tendency in men to acquire resources.
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Funding Information: This work was partly supported by a Consolidator Grant (IMPROVE) from the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (ERC; grant no. 726361).
Date
2020
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Tilburg University Research Output Collection
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COMPETITIVE ALTRUISM, CONDUCTING METAANALYSES, GENDER-DIFFERENCES, Gift-exchange game, INTERPERSONAL-TRUST, MATE PREFERENCES, Meta-analysis, OTHER-REGARDING PREFERENCES, PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR, PUBLICATION BIAS, RECIPROCITY, RISK-TAKING, Reciprocity, Sex differences, Trust, Trust game, Trustworthiness
Citation
Van Den Akker, O R, van Assen, M, Van Vugt, M & Wicherts, J M 2020, 'Sex differences in trust and trustworthiness : A meta-analysis of the trust game and the gift-exchange game', Journal of Economic Psychology, vol. 81, 102329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2020.102329
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14602/73997
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