隐形不平等如何影响合作与信任

Higher inequality is associated with higher crime, lower trust, and lower cooperation, but the mechanisms producing these associations remain unclear. Inequality produces compositional effects through changing individuals’ resource levels, regardless of whether or not it is perceived. Inequality’s visibility may have further effects precisely because people perceive it. In Study 1 (N = 496; 64 groups), participants played a multiplayer experimental game in groups of eight, choosing to steal from one another, cooperate, or work alone. Participants’ were never informed of others' points levels.