The effects of status mobility and group identity on trust

•We study how mobility in terms of status influences the effects of group identity on interpersonal trust.•Subjects are defined both by a natural group identity and a lab-induced status.•Achieving the status of expert is ex ante less likely for the members of one group.•Individuals promoted as experts although their group identity made it less likely trust less both in-groups and out-groups.•Interacting with promoted experts does not impact the trust or trustworthiness of in-groups or out-groups. In a laboratory experiment we test the interaction effects of group identity and status on interpersonal trust. Natural group identity is generated by school affiliation. Status (expert or agent) is awarded based on the relative performance in a math quiz that is ex ante less favorable to the subjects from one group. We find that “promoted” trustors (individuals from the disadvantaged group that nevertheless achieve the status of expert) trust less both in-group and out-group trustees, compared to the other members of their group. Status promotion singles out individuals and seems to weaken group identification. In contrast, trustworthiness is not affected by status and there is no evidence that interacting with promoted individuals impacts trust or trustworthiness.