Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2025

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Testosterone and cortisol jointly mediate and modulate trust behavior in early adolescence
Rui Su1, Xuting Jiang1, Xiang Ma1
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Safe AI and Superalignment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
Abstract:
During early adolescence, individuals undergo significant changes in neuroendocrine systems, neurodevelopment, and social sensitivity. Placing trust in the appropriate person becomes especially crucial for adolescents, given their increased peer interaction and heightened susceptibility to peer influence during this period. Adolescents take social distance into account when making trust decisions. However, the biological and cognitive mechanisms involved in trust decision-making towards peers of different social distances remain unclear. The present study investigated the interactions among hormonal (basal cortisol and basal testosterone), cognitive (impulsivity and theory of mind), and contextual (friends and strange peers) factors underlying trust decision-making in a sample of 142 adolescents (45 % females, Mage = 12.32 years, SDage = 0.60). Using a balloon analog risk task, a cartoon story reasoning task, and a modified version of the trust game, we assessed adolescents' impulsivity, theory of mind, as well as trust investment and evaluation of return possibility towards their friends and strangers, separately. The results showed a unique hormonal-cognitive-contextual mechanism underlying trust investment, despite adolescents demonstrating a preference for trusting friends over strangers in both trust investment and trust evaluation. Cortisol predominantly influenced adolescents' general trust, directly and indirectly through impulsivity. Testosterone appeared to modulate the indirect effect of cortisol via impulsivity on general trust and impacted their strategic trust decisions through the theory of mind. These findings highlight the role of cortisol and testosterone in trust and its potential cognitive process and provide guidance for tailored interventions for promoting healthy social development.
More Related Videos
11:51Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making
Published on: March 2, 2011
11:13The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....