Research has shown that individuals raised in Western cultures (e.g., U.S. and Canada) and those raised in Eastern cultures (e.g., China and Japan) differ in their views of themselves and their relationships and obligations toward the groups of which they are part. This experimental project has two goals. The first goal is to investigate whether these documented cross-cultural differences can be produced by changes in the social structure. To that end, the experimental conditions in this study vary the types of networks of social exchange in which participants interact. The second goal is to study how variations in structures of exchange contribute to the development of trust and commitment in networks of exchange. The investigators predict that generalized exchange, in which actors give benefits to different actors than those from whom they receive benefits (as opposed, for example, to networks in which actors compete with each other for resources), will produce more interdependent and holistic orientations, as well as higher levels of trust and commitment, than other types of exchange. Ultimately, the research seeks to contribute to our understanding of how changes in social structure can affect profound cultural differences between Eastern and Western societies, a well as differences in trust and group solidarity across cultures.
Broader Impacts Understanding how social conditions, including network structures, shape group solidarity has important implications, both for everyday interactions and in critical situations created e.g., by rapid social change or unexpected events. If successful, results might suggest interventions to promote cooperative behavior in groups, increase trust and solidarity, and improve performance on various types of tasks. The research also has a significant education component, leading to the training of a number of graduate and undergraduate students in research. Finally, the research will involve modifications to a widely used software program for behavioral experiments, modifications that will be made freely available to interested researchers.
