Generalized Trust, Political Trust and Cooperative Behavior. An Experimental Study on the Relation between Trust and Reciprocity

Most studies on the relation between trust and cooperative behavior tend to concentrate on generalized trust, i.e., the feeling of trust toward other actors. In this article we demonstrate that political trust is associated with reciprocity and cooperative behavior, as political institutions can function as a third-party enforcer that is attributed with implementing the moral norms that are conducive to reciprocal cooperation. The experimental study (n=64) demonstrates that pre-existing levels of trust in order institutions (police and the courts) and, to a lesser extent, trust in representative institutions (Parliament, government, political parties) have a significant and positive impact on the tendency to opt for reciprocal cooperation. Low levels of political trust were associated with violating the assumption of equal and reciprocal cooperation. There was no significant relation, however, between levels of generalized trust and cooperative behavior. We argue that trust in political institutions will lead to the assumption that cooperation will be ruled by fair and equal participation rules.status: publishe