The experiments conducted for this action allow for the first time to return to some of the overlooked methodological concerns about GT by relying on novel experimental data collected in the laboratory and online. I examined the convergent validity of GT as a proxy for intergroup attitudes and implicit prejudice. Moreover, a few exceptions notwithstanding, little is known about the predictive validity of GT. I examined this research gap by exploring the correlations between (explicit and implicit) intergroup attitudes and behaviour (Trust Game and social distance as measured by Seating Distance). Results suggest that the relation between on the one hand GT and on the other hand, in-group attitudes, out-group attitudes, and behaviour, might be weaker than expected. More specifically, only two correlations run in the expected direction: feeling warmer towards out-groups negatively correlates with transfers to in-groups, while higher Implicit Association Test (IAT) scores negatively correlate to transfers to out-groups. In contrast, relying on a larger sample than typical in social psychology, I could not replicate the negative correlation between the IAT and Seating Distance towards out-groups. Another striking finding is that participants who had completed an IAT before the Trust Game, transferred less money to an out-group, which goes to suggest that the IAT may act as a prime and necessitates further research. All correlations are examined in the larger online sample, randomizing the order of tasks and introducing a novel behavioural measure (willingness to enter a chat room with an ethnic in-group or out-group). Finally, I started data collection before the onset of Covid-19 pandemic and have continued to do so during the pandemic. As such, this allows me to explore whether a natural hazard has the potential to exacerbate negative feelings and behaviour towards out-groups, while inducing greater in-group favouritism, and how generalized trust impacts these relations.
In sum, this project examines the validity of Generalized Trust (GT) as a proxy for out-group attitudes, implicit race bias, and its relation to behaviour in an unprecedentedly broad manner using an innovative experimental protocol. Moreover, I explored the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on these relations and the impact of taking an IAT on subsequent behaviour. Results are relevant to political methodologists, psychologists, and survey researchers interested in the diversity-trust nexus. When studying the trust radius at the individual level, I therefore suggest analysts should consider alternative mechanisms going beyond intergroup relations. Social psychology has in intergroup relations theory one of its most valuable explanatory tools. Despite its intuitive appeal, scholars and policymakers alike should not lose sight of areas in which it may have little predictive power. The present study articulates this problem for individual-level studies of trust that take self-reported survey questionnaires at face value.
