title: Homo economicus belief inhibits trust.
abstract: As a foundational concept in economics, the homo economicus assumption regards humans as rational and self-interested actors. In contrast, trust requires individuals to believe partners' benevolence and unselfishness. Thus, the homo economicus belief may inhibit trust. The present three experiments demonstrated that the direct exposure to homo economicus belief can weaken trust. And economic situations like profit calculation can also activate individuals' homo economicus belief and inhibit their trust. It seems that people's increasing homo economicus belief may serve as one cause of the worldwide decline of trust.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology at School of Social Development, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ziqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.forename: Guofang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D003625:Data Collection; D004467:Economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments; D008297:Male; D018401:Sample Size; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult