Interpersonal trust
currency units sent
Willingness to transfer resources to a stranger who can keep them. The trust-game object, not a vibe.
In the investment/trust game the first mover sends money that is multiplied; the second mover can return some or none. Transfers are the usual behavioral measure of trust. They are not the same as self-reported agreeableness, oxytocin plasma, or 'psychological safety' at work.
Also called trust-game transfer, investor transfer.
Connected relationships
Randomized trial · High confidence
Oxytocin→Interpersonal trust
A rise in Oxytocin does not identify a change in Interpersonal trust.
Intranasal oxytocin does not raise trusting behavior: a 2026 registered report found no effect in 211 people, and a pooled equivalence test with the 2020 registered replication (532 people) put the leftover effect inside a minimal range.
Cases
Sources
- M. Kosfeld et al. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans
- G. Nave et al. (2015). Does Oxytocin Increase Trust in Humans? A Critical Review of Research
- C. H. Declerck et al. (2020). A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust
- I Krug et al. (2024). The impact of oxytocin on emotion recognition and trust: Does disordered eating moderate these relationships?
- CF Kroll et al. (2026). Absence of a meaningful effect of intranasal oxytocin on trusting behavior: a registered report with pooled equivalence testing.