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Trust in adolescence: Development, mechanisms and future directions
Lydia Krabbendam1, Hester Sijtsma1, Eveline A Crone2
1Department of Clinical, Neuro, and Developmental Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
|August 9, 2024
Summary
Adolescents develop trust in strangers through social reinforcement learning, showing increased initial trust and better adaptation over time. This developmental process can be negatively impacted by early adversity.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
Background:
- Trust in strangers is essential for societal function and meeting needs beyond close relationships.
- Adolescence is a critical period for developing trust in strangers as social networks expand.
- Trust can be conceptualized as social reinforcement learning, updating beliefs based on new information.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the development of trust in strangers during adolescence.
- To examine how adolescents learn and adapt trust through social interactions.
- To identify factors influencing individual differences in trust development.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies utilizing the trust game, an experimental paradigm for measuring trust.
- Analysis of trust dynamics in dyadic monetary exchange scenarios.
- Framework of social reinforcement learning to interpret trust development.
Main Results:
- Adolescent trust development involves increasing uncertainty, greater tolerance for uncertainty, and enhanced information seeking.
- Evidence suggests an increase in initial trust levels during adolescence.
- Trust demonstrates better adaptation during repeated interactions in adolescents.
- Childhood adversity may negatively affect the development of trust in strangers.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent trust development is characterized by evolving belief uncertainty and adaptive learning.
- The trust game provides a valuable tool for studying trust, with potential for enrichment.
- Further research should explore trust dilemmas relevant to diverse youth populations to understand individual differences.
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