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Psychometric Evaluation of the Dictator Game and Trust Game /
Does Cooperative Behavior Reflect the Operation of a General Factor? A Multi-Trait, Multi-Method Investigation
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Description: The Dictator Game, a face valid measure of altruism, and the Trust Game, a face valid measure of trust and trustworthiness, are among the most widely used behavioral measures in human cooperation research. Researchers have observed considerable covariation among these and other economic games, leading them to assert that there exists a general human propensity to cooperate that varies in strength across individuals and manifests itself across a variety of measures and social settings. To formalize this hypothesis, we created a bifactor model using 276 participants’ Dictator Game and Trust Game decisions. The general factor had significant, moderate associations with self- and peer-reported altruism, trust, and trustworthiness, as well as charitable giving. Thus, the positive covariation among economic games is not just method variance, but also reflects a broad tendency to behave cooperatively. None of the games considered individually—whether modeled as group factors in a bifactor model or as substantive factors—consistently predicted the criterion measures, however. The general factor’s precision may explain its superior predictive validity. The Dictator Game loaded particularly strongly on the general factor, suggesting that the primary motive underlying Dictator Game transfers may represent the motivational system underlying the general factor of cooperation.