The effect of the Social Value Orientation on judging trustworthiness and gathering information on character

Abstract

The Social Value Orientation (SVO) explains individual differences in cooperation attitudes. In this study, we examine whether the SVO affects the time taken, and amount of information gathered, when judging the trustworthiness of other people. Participants were able to choose a partner based on the past allocation patterns of candidates, mimicking how people are able to select with whom they cooperate in their social environments. We investigated the effect of the SVO on the method of gathering information on character and choosing a social exchange partner. The results revealed that participants with a prosocial (cooperative) orientation took less time to choose a partner, gathered less information, and tended to choose partners who behaved equally with everyone, compared to participants with an individualistic (selfish) orientation. Our findings suggest that people with a prosocial orientation prefer partners who treat everyone equally, regardless of the relationship, while people with an individualistic orientation deliberately seek out candidates who are likely to provide a relationship which is beneficial to themselves.