The lab versus the virtual lab and virtual field--An experimental investigation of trust games with communication

We study trust games in a virtual world environment and contrast results with laboratory studies, with and without personal interaction enabled by the virtual world platform. Particular attention is given to the motives that drive behavior in the various environments and to issues that are context dependent, particularly communication and social distance. We find that allowing for personal interaction through a virtual world interface increases the amount sent relative to laboratory results, but that subjects recruited in the virtual world give and return less than the laboratory control group with the same virtual world interface.