Trust development as an expectancy-learning process: Testing contingency effects

Trust in parental support and subsequent support seeking behavior, a hallmark of secure attachment, result from experiences with sensitive parents during distress. However, the underlying developmental mechanism remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that trust is the result of an expectancy-learning process condtional upon contingency (the probability that caregiver support has a positive outcome). We developed a new paradigm in which a novel caregiver provides help to solve a problem. Contingency of the caregiver’s support was manipulated and participants’ trust in the caregiver and their help seeking behavior was measured in three independent samples. The hypothesis was supported suggesting that trust and support seeking result from an expectancy-learning process. These findings’ potential contribution to attachment theory is discussed.

个体对父母支持的信任及其后续的求助行为，作为安全依恋的标志性特征，源于个体在痛苦情境中与敏感父母的互动经历。然而，其背后的深层发展机制仍未明确。我们验证了如下假说：信任源于以偶联性（即照料者提供的支持产生积极结果的概率）为条件的预期学习过程。我们开发了一种全新的实验范式，由一名陌生照料者协助被试解决某项任务问题。研究中我们操控了该照料者提供支持的偶联性，并在三个独立样本中测量了被试对该照料者的信任程度及其求助行为。实验结果支持了该假说，表明信任与求助行为确实源于预期学习过程。本研究讨论了上述发现对依恋理论的潜在贡献。