An exploration of trust, betrayal, & social identity

This thesis analyzes the impact of interacting with people who belong to a different social group than one’s own (outgroup) relative to people from the same group (ingroup) on trust and electoral turnout. Chapter 1 finds that higher racial diversity in schools in the US increases turnout in presidential elections for young adults and a higher share of black people in one’s cohort predicts a higher probability of identifying as a Democrat. Chapter 3 finds that a previously identified difference in trust towards ingroup members versus outgroup members is not due to a difference in betrayal aversion. Chapters 2 and 4 bring methodological contributions to the measurement of strategic risk preferences and betrayal aversion.