Multi-Round Trust Game Quantifies Inter-Individual Differences in Social Exchange from Adolescence to Adulthood.

Andreas Hula,Raymond J Dolan,P Read Montague,Gabriel Ziegler,Peter B Jones,Ed Bullmore,Ian Goodyer,Geert-Jan Will,Andrea M Reiter,Peter Fonagy,Michael Moutoussis,Danae Kokorikou

doi:10.5334/cpsy.65

Abstract

Investing in strangers in a socio-economic exchange is risky, as we may be uncertain whether they will reciprocate. Nevertheless, the potential rewards for cooperating can be great. Here, we used a cross sectional sample (n = 784) to study how the challenges of cooperation versus defection are negotiated across an important period of the lifespan: from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 14 to 25). We quantified social behaviour using a multi round investor-trustee task, phenotyping individuals using a validated model whose parameters characterise patterns of real exchange and constitute latent social characteristics. We found highly significant differences in investment behaviour according to age, sex, socio-economic status and IQ. Consistent with the literature, we showed an overall trend towards higher trust from adolescence to young adulthood but, in a novel finding, we characterized key cognitive mechanisms explaining this, especially regarding socio-economic risk aversion. Males showed lower risk-aversion, associated with greater investments. We also found that inequality aversion was higher in females and, in a novel relation, that socio-economic deprivation was associated with more risk averse play.

Highlights

Socio-economic interactions with strangers are inherently risky
Trust games of various kinds have been utilized to study social investment behaviour/trust in diverse samples of adolescents and even young children, with findings varying considerably. Some of these studies have suggested that trust behaviour is modulated by the amounts endowed to the investor before reciprocation and by sex
Following several examples in the literature, which point towards changes in trust and reciprocity during adolescence, we found that differences in risk aversion in the MRT statistically explained a substantial portion of the variability of the investment behaviour observed across participants

Summary

Introduction

Socio-economic interactions with strangers are inherently risky. despite knowing little about potential partners’ intentions or probity, we may choose to trust them to achieve greater gains for ourselves and to satisfy our own tastes for equity. Trust games of various kinds have been utilized to study social investment behaviour/trust in diverse samples of adolescents (see van den Bos et al, 2010, van den Bos et al, 2011, van den Bos et al, 2012, Belli, Rogers & Lau, 2012, van de Groep 2018) and even young children (see Rosati et al, 2019), with findings varying considerably. Some of these studies have suggested that trust behaviour (investing in an unknown partner with hope of reciprocity) is modulated by the amounts endowed to the investor before reciprocation (which determines ‘socio-economic exchange risk’) and by sex (female adolescents tending on average to invest less in unknown others). Findings likely depend on the concrete choice of paradigm and age bracket

Methods

Results

Conclusion