An individual difference in betrayal aversion: Prosociality predicts more risky choices in social but not natural domains

  • Asuka Komiya Kochi University of Technology
  • Nobuhiro Mifune Kochi University of Technology
Keywords: betrayal aversion, risk aversion, social value orientation

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between betrayal aversion, i.e., the tendency to avoid specifically social risks (and not non-social, or “natural” risks), and social value orientation using economic games. Participants engaged in the Faith Game, which requires social trust, and a standard gambling game. Individuals denoted as “proself” were less likely to choose the risky option during the Faith Game as compared to individuals noted as “prosocial”; there was no difference between the groups during the gambling game. We discuss these results in terms of individual differences in betrayal aversion.
Published
2015-04-13
Section
Original Articles