Adolescents' trust and reciprocity towards friends, unknown peers, and community members

Abstract

Using a newly developed version of the Trust Game among 196 adolescents aged 11-20, this study examined whether adolescents distinguish between trust and reciprocity choices to unknown peers, friends, and community members. We also tested for effects of age, gender, and individual differences in attending to others’ emotions, emotional support to friends, societal contributions, and institutional and interpersonal trust beliefs. Results indicate that adolescents showed the least trust and reciprocity to unknown peers, more to a community member, and most to friends. Reciprocity increased with age, and individual differences in societal contributions and interpersonal trust were positively related to trust and reciprocity. This study is the first to show that community members are a specific target in adolescents’ social world.