Group-Based Trust in Strangers: A Program of Cross-Societal Research

Much previous research on trust has treated factors relating to trust as universal, ignoring the important cultural differences that prompt people from certain backgrounds to trust while others distrust. For instance, studies show Japanese people are less likely than Americans to exhibit a general trust in strangers, largely because of the value that the Japanese place on reputation.

Margaret Foddy of Carleton University and Toshio Yamagishi of Hokkaido University will test for differences in the propensity to trust between people from Canada and Japan. They posit that in Canada, people will expect to be treated fairly when dealing with people who share with them a common group identity, but that more is necessary to inspire trust among Japanese people. Foddy and Yamagishi will conduct parallel studies in Canada and Japan to measure the importance that people in each nation place on personal reputation and shared group membership when assessing the trustworthiness of others. Subjects will be asked to play a trust game in which dependence, the opportunity to reciprocate, and the opportunity to allocate will all vary. The results of the games and a series of questionnaires will help assess whether there are significant cultural differences between Canada and Japan related to trust in strangers.