Data from: Economic trust in young children

Mutually beneficial interactions often require trust that others will
reciprocate. Such interpersonal trust is foundational to
evolutionarily-unique aspects of human social behavior, such as economic
exchange. In adults, interpersonal trust is often assessed using the
‘trust game,’ in which a lender invests resources in a trustee who may or
may not repay the loan. This game captures two crucial elements of
economic exchange: the potential for greater mutual benefits by trusting
in others, and the moral hazard that others may betray that trust. While
adults across cultures can trust others, little is known about the
developmental origins of this crucial cooperative ability. We developed
the first version of the trust game for use with young children that
addresses these two components of trust. Across three experiments, we
demonstrate that 4- and 6-year-olds recognize opportunities to invest in
others, sharing more when reciprocation is possible than in a context
measuring pure generosity. Yet children become better with age at
investing in trustworthy over untrustworthy partners, indicating that this
cooperative skill emerges later in ontogeny. Together, our results
indicate that young children can engage in complex economic exchanges
involving judgments about interpersonal trust and show increasing
sensitivity to appropriate partners over development.