Boys vs. girls: Gender differences in the neural development of trust and reciprocity depend on social context.

ABSTRACT: Trust and cooperation increase from adolescence to adulthood, but studies on gender differences in this development are rare. We investigated gender and age-related differences in trust and reciprocity and associated neural mechanisms in 43 individuals (16-27 years, 22 male). Participants played two multi-round trust games with a cooperative and an unfair partner. Males showed more basic trust towards unknown others than females. Both genders increased trust during cooperative interactions, with no differences in average trust. Age was unrelated to trust during cooperation. During unfair interactions males decreased their trust more with age than females. ROI analysis showed age-related increases in activation in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC

SUBMITTER: Lemmers-Jansen ILJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6987832 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature