%0 Report %A Butler, Jeffrey V. %A Giuliano, Paola %A Guiso, Luigi %T Trust, Values and False Consensus %D 2012 %8 2012 Oct %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) %C Bonn %7 IZA Discussion Paper %N 6916 %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp6916 %X Trust beliefs are heterogeneous across individuals and, at the same time, persistent across generations. We investigate one mechanism yielding these dual patterns: false consensus. In the context of a trust game experiment, we show that individuals extrapolate from their own type when forming trust beliefs about the same pool of potential partners – i.e., more (less) trustworthy individuals form more optimistic (pessimistic) trust beliefs - and that this tendency continues to color trust beliefs after several rounds of game-play. Moreover, we show that one's own type/trustworthiness can be traced back to the values parents transmit to their children during their upbringing. In a second closely-related experiment, we show the economic impact of mis-calibrated trust beliefs stemming from false consensus. Mis-calibrated beliefs lower participants' experimental trust game earnings by about 20 percent on average. %K culture %K trustworthiness %K trust %K false consensus