&quot;To trust or not to Trust&quot;: &quot;Investigating the Effects of Pupil Size and Tears on Trust Using an Incentivized Trust Game&quot;

Mimicry is an adaptive function that can help to develop social bonds. Pupil mimicry is one such form of mimicry. Pupil mimicry is an unconscious and automatic phenomenon that can increase trust levels, giving the perceiver of this visual cue an insight into the sender of the cue’s intentions. The presence of tears aids onlookers in understanding the emotional states of others, prompting helpful and supportive behaviour. In this study, we examined the relationship between pupil size and tears and how they impact trust decisions during an incentivised trust task. Images of eyes, manipulated to either have constricting, dilating or static pupils were used to investigate changes in pupil size, and how they influence trust decisions. Tears were added to these stimuli to investigate the impact of tears on trust decisions. Findings indicate that (a) whether the pupil is dilated, constricted or static, it does not significantly impact the pupil size of the participant, (b) dilating pupils...Show moreMimicry is an adaptive function that can help to develop social bonds. Pupil mimicry is one such form of mimicry. Pupil mimicry is an unconscious and automatic phenomenon that can increase trust levels, giving the perceiver of this visual cue an insight into the sender of the cue’s intentions. The presence of tears aids onlookers in understanding the emotional states of others, prompting helpful and supportive behaviour. In this study, we examined the relationship between pupil size and tears and how they impact trust decisions during an incentivised trust task. Images of eyes, manipulated to either have constricting, dilating or static pupils were used to investigate changes in pupil size, and how they influence trust decisions. Tears were added to these stimuli to investigate the impact of tears on trust decisions. Findings indicate that (a) whether the pupil is dilated, constricted or static, it does not significantly impact the pupil size of the participant, (b) dilating pupils are more likely to encourage trusting behaviours than constricting or static pupils, (c) tearing eyes prompt lower investment decisions than non-tearing eyes, (d) dilating pupils with tears do not encourage more trusting behaviours than tearing eyes with constricting or static pupils and (e) stimulus gender has a significant effect on investment decisions. These findings indicate that dilating pupils have a positive effect on trust decisions, but further research is needed into how tears impact trust decisions, as the lack of a significant positive effect of tears is unexpected and goes against prior research.Show less

Leiden University Student Repository

Documents

In Collections

"To trust or not to Trust" "Investigating the Effects of Pupil Size and Tears on Trust Using an Incentivized Trust Game"