Multi-Round Trust Game quantifies inter-individual differences in Social Exchange from Adolescence to Adulthood

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: through adolescence to young adulthood (ages 14 to 25). We quantified social behaviour using a multi round investor-trustee task, phenotyping individuals using an thoroughly 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 explained this in terms of cognitive mechanisms such as variation in socio-economic risk aversion. We found that lower risk-aversion in males led to greater investments. A number of subtler novel findings included while relative socio-economic eprivation being associated with greater depth of planning but also more defensive play.

Authors 12

1. Andreas Hula corresponding

   AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

   Affiliation as printed

   Austrian Insitute of Technology, Vienna, Austria

2. Michael Moutoussis Aachen Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden

   Leiden University · German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

   Affiliation as printed

   German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany;

   Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands

3. Geert‐Jan Will Aachen Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden

   Leiden University · German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

   Affiliation as printed

   German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany;

   Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands

4. Danae Kokorikou

   Anna Freud Centre

   Affiliation as printed

   Anna Freud Centre, London, United Kingdom

5. Andrea M.F. Reiter Aachen Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden

   Leiden University · German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases

   Affiliation as printed

   German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany;

   Institute of Psychology, University of Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands

6. Gabriel Ziegler
   Affiliation as printed

   Centre for Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, Magdeburg, Germany

7. Neurosciene in Psychiatry Network
8. Peter Brian Jones

   National Health Service · University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Cambridgeshire and

   Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

   Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom

9. Ian Michael Goodyer

   National Health Service · University of Cambridge

   Affiliation as printed

   Cambridgeshire and

   Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

   Peterborough National Health Service Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom

10. Peter Fonagy

    Anna Freud Centre · University College London

    Affiliation as printed

    Anna Freud Centre, London, United Kingdom

    Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, United Kingdom

11. P. Read Montague

    Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging · University College London · Virginia Tech

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America

    Human Neuroimaging Laboratory, Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, Virginia, United States of America

    Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom

12. Raymond J. Dolan

    Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging · University College London

    Affiliation as printed

    Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom

    Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom