Trust as feelings

What makes you trust somebody else? You have reasons!?! Yes you probably have some reasons, but what you think about your behavior might not be what really compels your behavior. Although trusting is one of the most basic ways in which humans navigate through society, the process is quiet puzzling.

Trust as feelings is the title of my diploma thesis, co-authored with Jan Bruch. We explored human decision making in conditions that represent an opportunity to trust. This was an assignment given to us by one of today´s pioneers in this field of research, Dr. Detlef Fetchenhauer, who heads the Department of Economic and Social Psychology at the University of Cologne.

The thesis was awarded by GWSF with the prize for best empirical study of the year 2007.