"A Replication of the Trust Game in a Highly Immersive Virtual Reality Environment", Dr Xu ZHANG, Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
Title: A Replication of the Trust Game in a Highly Immersive Virtual Reality Environment
Speaker: Dr Xu ZHANG, Assistant Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Venue: T7-106-R1
Abstract：
As the metaverse gains traction and other highly immersive virtual environment (HIVE) applications of virtual reality (VR) technologies emerge, understanding interpersonal trust in such virtual spaces is crucial. We adapt the canonical trust game experiment (Berg et al., 1995) to HIVE, where two participants in separate real-world spaces play an anonymous one-shot trust game in a virtual lab.Our first treatment replicates Berg et al. (1995) and does not allow participants to see each other's avatars, isolating the effect of being immersed in VR alone on trust and trustworthiness. In the second treatment, participants see their counterparts’ avatars before the game, allowing us to directly compare trust and trustworthiness with and without the visual avatar presence of others.To compare decisions made in a traditional physical lab environment with those in a VR setting, we also include a control group where participants sequentially make their decisions in a physical room without seeing each other in reality or VR. We find no significant difference in trust and trustworthiness between the physical group and the VR group without visual avatar presence, while visual avatar presence significantly increases trust. Male participants are more trusting than females, and those with more gaming experience are more inclined to reciprocate.This study is the first attempt to investigate trust dynamics in HIVE, showcasing the potential of VR in economic experiments.
Speaker Bio：
Dr. Zhang Xu obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from Brown University in May 2020 and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Innovation, Policy, and Entrepreneurship Thrust at the Society Hub of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou).
His primary research areas include microeconomic theory, information economics, behavioral economics, and experimental economics. His research topics cover information design, irrational probabilistic inference, trust and cooperation, and social preferences. His major research findings have been published in renowned international economics journals, including the Journal of Political Economy and the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
