Event-related correlates of evolving trust evaluations

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Neuroscience
• Decision Science

Background:

• Trustworthiness judgments are crucial for social interactions.
• Prior research primarily examined individual trustworthiness decisions based on faces.
• This study investigates cumulative trust decisions made about groups based on sequential face stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how sequential face stimuli influence cumulative trust decisions about groups.
• To investigate the impact of evidence extremity and valence on decision speed and accuracy.
• To explore the neural correlates of trustworthiness judgments using electrophysiological measures.

Main Methods:

• Participants made investment decisions (increase or withdraw) in mock companies based on sequential face stimuli.
• Companies were constructed using prior trust ratings to represent varying levels of trustworthiness (strong/weak, trustworthy/untrustworthy).
• Behavioral (decision time, accuracy) and electrophysiological (P1, P3, LPP event-related potentials) data were collected.

Main Results:

• Decisions were faster and more accurate for companies with more extreme trustworthiness ratings (stronger evidence).
• A negativity bias was observed, with faster decisions for untrustworthy compared to trustworthy companies with extreme ratings.
• Larger P1 and P3 amplitudes were associated with strong trustworthy faces, suggesting heightened attention to evidence contradicting bias.
• The initial face presented for each company elicited larger P1, P3, and Late Positive Potential (LPP) amplitudes.

Conclusions:

• Extreme trustworthiness evidence enhances decision-making speed and accuracy in group contexts.
• A negativity bias influences rapid judgments, but evidence contradicting this bias captures significant attention.
• The first impression of an individual within a group disproportionately captures attentional resources, impacting subsequent social judgments.