Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T03:36:06.606Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 15 - Trust and Genetics

Genetic Basis of Trust Behavior and Trust Attitude

from Part IV - Neuromolecular Level of Trust

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2021

Frank Krueger
Affiliation:
George Mason University, Virginia
Get access

Summary

Are individual differences in trust subject to genetic influences? If possibly heritable, which specific gene is associated with trust? This chapter reviews previous studies to answer these questions and introduces the genetic basis of trust, including trust behavior and trust attitude. In twin studies, trust was demonstrated to be influenced by genes to some degree (about 10%–20% in trust behavior and above 30% in trust attitude). To determine which specific gene is associated with trust, researchers used molecular biological techniques to determine the genetic polymorphisms of specific genes and examine the relationship between trust and genes. Thus far, it has been found that the oxytocin receptor gene, arginine vasopressin receptor 1A gene, dopamine D4 receptor gene, and serotonin transporter gene are associated with trust level. In this chapter, we will introduce these genes and the relationship between trust and genes.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andari, E., Schneider, F. C., Mottolese, R., Vindras, P., & Sirigu, A. (2014). Oxytocin’s fingerprint in personality traits and regional brain volume. Cerebral Cortex, 24(2), 479486. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhs328CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Apicella, C. L., Cesarini, D., Johannesson, M., et al. (2010). No association between oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms and experimentally elicited social preferences. PLoS ONE, 5(6), Article e11153. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011153Google Scholar
Arney, K. (2018). How to code a human: Exploring the DNA blueprints that make us who we are. Andre Deutsch.Google Scholar
Avinun, R., Ebstein, R. P., & Knafo, A. (2012). Human maternal behaviour is associated with arginine vasopressin receptor 1A gene. Biology Letters, 8(5), 894896. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0492CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barberis, C., & Tribollet, E. (1996). Vasopressin and oxytocin receptors in the central nervous system. Critical Reviews in Neurobiology, 10(1), 119154. https://doi.org/10.1615/CritRevNeurobiol.v10.i1.60Google ScholarPubMed
Bartz, J. A., Zaki, J., Bolger, N., & Ochsner, K. N. (2011). Social effects of oxytocin in humans: Context and person matter. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(7), 301309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2011.05.002Google ScholarPubMed
Baumgartner, T., Heinrichs, M., Vonlanthen, A., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2008). Oxytocin shapes the neural circuitry of trust and trust adaptation in humans. Neuron, 58(4), 639650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2008.04.009Google Scholar
Berg, J., Dickhaut, J., & McCabe, K. (1995). Trust, reciprocity, and social history. Games and Economic Behavior, 10(1), 122142. https://doi.org/10.1006/game.1995.1027Google Scholar
Blume, A., Bosch, O. J., Miklos, S., et al. (2008). Oxytocin reduces anxiety via ERK1/2 activation: Local effect within the rat hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. European Journal of Neuroscience, 27(8), 19471956. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-9568.2008.06184.xGoogle Scholar
Brunnlieb, C., Münte, T. F., Tempelmann, C., & Heldmann, M. (2013). Vasopressin modulates neural responses related to emotional stimuli in the right amygdala. Brain Research, 1499, 2942. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2013.01.009Google Scholar
Camerer, C. F. (2011). Behavioral game theory: Experiments in strategic interaction. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cesarini, D., Dawes, C. T., Fowler, J. H., Johannesson, M., Lichtenstein, P., & Wallace, B. (2008). Heritability of cooperative behavior in the trust game. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(10), 37213726. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710069105Google Scholar
Champagne, F., Diorio, J., Sharma, S., & Meaney, M. J. (2001). Naturally occurring variations in maternal behavior in the rat are associated with differences in estrogen-inducible central oxytocin receptors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(22), 1273612741. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.221224598Google Scholar
Crockford, C., Deschner, T., Ziegler, T. E., & Wittig, R. M. (2014). Endogenous peripheral oxytocin measures can give insight into the dynamics of social relationships: A review. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 8, Article 68. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00068CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Dreu, C. K., Greer, L. L., Handgraaf, M. J., et al. (2010). The neuropeptide oxytocin regulates parochial altruism in intergroup conflict among humans. Science, 328(5984), 14081411. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1189047Google Scholar
Declerck, C. H., Boone, C., Pauwels, L., Vogt, B., & Fehr, E. (2020). A registered replication study on oxytocin and trust. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 646655. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0878-xGoogle Scholar
Delgado, M. R., Frank, R. H., & Phelps, E. A. (2005). Perceptions of moral character modulate the neural systems of reward during the trust game. Nature Neuroscience, 8(11), 16111618. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1575Google Scholar
Ding, Y. C., Chi, H. C., Grady, D. L., et al. (2002). Evidence of positive selection acting at the human dopamine receptor D4 gene locus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(1), 309314. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.012464099Google Scholar
Domes, G., Heinrichs, M., Michel, A., Berger, C., & Herpertz, S. C. (2007). Oxytocin improves “mind-reading” in humans. Biological Psychiatry, 61(6), 731733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.07.015CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dreber, A., Rand, D. G., Wernerfelt, N., Montgomery, C., & Malhotra, D. K. (2012). Genetic correlates of economic and social risk taking. SSRN. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2141601CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, R. (2012). Oxytocin and social affiliation in humans. Hormones and Behavior, 61(3), 380391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.01.008Google Scholar
Feldman, R. (2015). Sensitive periods in human social development: New insights from research on oxytocin, synchrony, and high-risk parenting. Development and Psychopathology, 27(2), 369395. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579415000048Google Scholar
Fox, E., Ridgewell, A., & Ashwin, C. (2009). Looking on the bright side: Biased attention and the human serotonin transporter gene. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 276(1663), 17471751. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1788CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heinrichs, M., Baumgartner, T., Kirschbaum, C., & Ehlert, U. (2003). Social support and oxytocin interact to suppress cortisol and subjective responses to psychosocial stress. Biological Psychiatry, 54(12), 13891398. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3223(03)00465-7Google Scholar
Heinrichs, M., & Domes, G. (2008). Neuropeptides and social behaviour: Effects of oxytocin and vasopressin in humans. Progress in Brain Research, 170, 337350. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-6123(08)00428-7Google Scholar
Hiraishi, K., Yamagata, S., Shikishima, C., & Ando, J. (2008). Maintenance of genetic variation in personality through control of mental mechanisms: A test of trust, extraversion, and agreeableness. Evolution and Human Behavior, 29(2), 7985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.07.004Google Scholar
Hopkins, W. D., Donaldson, Z. R., & Young, L. J. (2012). A polymorphic indel containing the RS3 microsatellite in the 5′ flanking region of the vasopressin V1a receptor gene is associated with chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) personality. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 11(5), 552558. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2012.00799.xGoogle Scholar
Humphrey, J., & Schmitz, H. (1998). Trust and inter‐firm relations in developing and transition economies. The Journal of Development Studies, 34(4), 3261. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220389808422528Google Scholar
Hung, L. W., Neuner, S., Polepalli, J. S., et al. (2017). Gating of social reward by oxytocin in the ventral tegmental area. Science, 357(6358), 14061411. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aan4994Google Scholar
Inglehart, R. (1997). Modernization and postmodernization: Cultural, economic, and political change in 43 societies. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv10vm2nsGoogle Scholar
Inoue, T., Kimura, T., Azuma, C., et al. (1994). Structural organization of the human oxytocin receptor gene. The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 269(51), 3245132456Google Scholar
Inoue-Murayama, M., Yokoyama, C., Yamanashi, Y., & Weiss, A. (2018). Common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) personality, subjective well-being, hair cortisol level and AVPR1a, OPRM1, and DAT genotypes. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28112-7Google Scholar
Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., Mojaverian, T., et al. (2011). Gene–culture interaction: Oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) and emotion regulation. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(6), 665672. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611405854CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H. S., Sherman, D. K., Sasaki, J. Y., et al. (2010). Culture, distress, and oxytocin receptor polymorphism (OXTR) interact to influence emotional support seeking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(36), 1571715721. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010830107CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
King-Casas, B., Tomlin, D., Anen, C., Camerer, C. F., Quartz, S. R., & Montague, P. R. (2005). Getting to know you: Reputation and trust in a two-person economic exchange. Science, 308(5718), 7883. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1108062Google Scholar
Kirsch, P., Esslinger, C., Chen, Q., et al. (2005). Oxytocin modulates neural circuitry for social cognition and fear in humans. Journal of Neuroscience, 25(49), 1148911493. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3984-05.2005Google Scholar
Kiyonari, T., Yamagishi, T., Cook, K. S., & Cheshire, C. (2006). Does trust beget trustworthiness? Trust and trustworthiness in two games and two cultures: A research note. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(3), 270283. https://doi.org/10.1177/019027250606900304Google Scholar
Knafo, A., Israel, S., Darvasi, A., et al. (2008). Individual differences in allocation of funds in the dictator game associated with length of the arginine vasopressin 1a receptor RS3 promoter region and correlation between RS3 length and hippocampal mRNA. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 7(3), 266275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2007.00341.xGoogle Scholar
Kong, D. T. (2015). A gene-environment interaction model of social trust: The 5-HTTLPR s-allele prevalence as a moderator for the democracy-trust linkage. Personality & Individual Differences, 87, 278281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.028Google Scholar
Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P. J., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E. (2005). Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435(7042), 673676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03701Google Scholar
Krueger, F., McCabe, K., Moll, J., et al. (2007). Neural correlates of trust. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(50), 2008420089. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710103104Google Scholar
Krueger, F., Parasuraman, R., Iyengar, V., et al. (2012). Oxytocin receptor genetic variation promotes human trust behavior. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00004Google Scholar
Lesch, K. P., Meyer, J., Glatz, K., et al. (1997). The 5-HT transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) in evolutionary perspective: Alternative biallelic variation in rhesus monkeys. Journal of Neural Transmission, 104(11–12), 12591266. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01294726Google Scholar
Liu, Y., & Wang, Z. X. (2003). Nucleus accumbens oxytocin and dopamine interact to regulate pair bond formation in female prairie voles. Neuroscience, 121(3), 537544. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4522(03)00555-4Google Scholar
Loup, F., Tribollet, E., Dubois-Dauphin, M., & Dreifuss, J. J. (1991). Localization of high-affinity binding sites for oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain. An autoradiographic study. Brain Research, 555(2), 220232. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(91)90345-VGoogle Scholar
Manuck, S. B., & McCaffery, J. M. (2014). Gene-environment interaction. Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 4170. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115100Google Scholar
Marek, S., Tervo-Clemmens, B., Calabro, F. J., et al. (2020). Towards reproducible brain-wide association studies. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.21.257758Google Scholar
McCabe, K., Houser, D., Ryan, L., Smith, V., & Trouard, T. (2001). A functional imaging study of cooperation in two-person reciprocal exchange. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(20), 1183211835. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.211415698CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Domes, G., Kirsch, P., & Heinrichs, M. (2011). Oxytocin and vasopressin in the human brain: Social neuropeptides for translational medicine. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 12(9), 524538. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3044Google Scholar
Mifune, N., & Li, Y. (2018). Trust in the faith game. Psychologia, 61(2), 7088. https://doi.org/10.2117/psysoc.2019-B008Google Scholar
Nave, G., Camerer, C., & McCullough, M. (2015). Does oxytocin increase trust in humans? A critical review of research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(6), 772789. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615600138Google Scholar
Nishina, K., Takagishi, H., Fermin, A. S. R., et al. (2018). Association of the oxytocin receptor gene with attitudinal trust: Role of amygdala volume. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 13(10), 10911097. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsy075Google Scholar
Nishina, K., Takagishi, H., Inoue-Murayama, M., Takahashi, H., & Yamagishi, T. (2015). Polymorphism of the oxytocin receptor gene modulates behavioral and attitudinal trust among men but not women. PLoS ONE, 10(10), Article e0137089. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137089Google Scholar
Nishina, K., Takagishi, H., Takahashi, H., Sakagami, M., & Inoue-Murayama, M. (2019). Association of polymorphism of arginine-vasopressin receptor 1A (AVPR1a) gene with trust and reciprocity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, Article 230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00230Google Scholar
Oskarsson, S., Dawes, C., Johannesson, M., & Magnusson, P. K. (2012). The genetic origins of the relationship between psychological traits and social trust. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 15(1), 2133. https://doi.org/10.1375/twin.15.1.21Google Scholar
Putnam, R. D., Leonardi, R., & Nanetti, R. Y. (1994). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Reimann, M., Schilke, O., & Cook, K. S. (2017). Trust is heritable, whereas distrust is not. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(27), 70077012. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1617132114Google Scholar
Riedl, R., & Javor, A. (2012). The biology of trust: Integrating evidence from genetics, endocrinology, and functional brain imaging. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 5(2), 6391. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026318Google Scholar
Romano, A., Balliet, D., Yamagishi, T., & Liu, J. H. (2017). Parochial trust and cooperation across 17 societies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(48), 1270212707. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1712921114Google Scholar
Rotter, J. B. (1967). A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, 35(4), 651665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1967.tb01454.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sasaki, J. Y., Kim, H. S., & Xu, J. (2011). Religion and well-being: The moderating role of culture and the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(8), 13941405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022111412526Google Scholar
Savitz, J. B., & Ramesar, R. S. (2004). Genetic variants implicated in personality: A review of the more promising candidates. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 131(1), 2032. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.b.20155Google Scholar
Shahrokh, D. K., Zhang, T. Y., Diorio, J., Gratton, A., & Meaney, M. J. (2010). Oxytocin-dopamine interactions mediate variations in maternal behavior in the rat. Endocrinology, 151(5), 22762286. https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2009-1271Google Scholar
Shalev, I., Israel, S., Uzefovsky, F., Gritsenko, I., Kaitz, M., & Ebstein, R. P. (2011). Vasopressin needs an audience: Neuropeptide elicited stress responses are contingent upon perceived social evaluative threats. Hormones and Behavior, 60(1), 121127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.04.005Google Scholar
Simpson, J. A. (2007). Foundations of interpersonal trust. In Kruglanski, A. W. & Higgins, E. T. (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (pp. 587607). The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Sturgis, P., Read, S., Hatemi, P. K., et al. (2010). A genetic basis for social trust? Political Behavior, 32(2), 205230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-009-9101-5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takagishi, H. (2020). The role of oxytocin in prosocial behavior. Psychology World, 91, 1316 (written in Japanese). https://psych.or.jp/publication/world091/pw05Google Scholar
Thibonnier, M., Graves, M. K., Wagner, M. S., Auzan, C., Clauser, E., & Willard, H. F. (1996). Structure, sequence, expression, and chromosomal localization of the human v1avasopressin receptor gene. Genomics, 31(3), 327334. https://doi.org/10.1006/geno.1996.0055Google Scholar
Tost, H., Kolachana, B., Hakimi, S., et al. (2010). A common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) impacts prosocial temperament and human hypothalamic-limbic structure and function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(31), 1393613941. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1003296107Google Scholar
Tribollet, E., Dubois‐Dauphin, M., Dreifuss, J. J., Barberis, C., & Jard, S. (1992). Oxytocin receptors in the central nervous system: Distribution, development, and species differences. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 652(1), 2938. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1992.tb34343.xGoogle Scholar
Walum, H., Waldman, I. D., & Young, L. J. (2016). Statistical and methodological considerations for the interpretation of intranasal oxytocin studies. Biological Psychiatry, 79(3), 251257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.06.016Google Scholar
Walum, H., Westberg, L., Henningsson, S., et al. (2008). Genetic variation in the vasopressin receptor 1a gene (AVPR1A) associates with pair-bonding behavior in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(37), 1415314156. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803081105Google Scholar
Wang, J., Qin, W., Liu, B., et al. (2014). Neural mechanisms of oxytocin receptor gene mediating anxiety-related temperament. Brain Structure and Function, 219(5), 15431554. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-013-0584-9Google Scholar
Wang, J., Qin, W., Liu, F., et al. (2016). Sex‐specific mediation effect of the right fusiform face area volume on the association between variants in repeat length of AVPR1A RS3 and altruistic behavior in healthy adults. Human Brain Mapping, 37(7), 27002709. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23203Google Scholar
Windle, R. J., Shanks, N., Lightman, S. L., & Ingram, C. D. (1997). Central oxytocin administration reduces stress-induced corticosterone release and anxiety behavior in rats. Endocrinology, 138(7), 28292834. https://doi.org/10.1210/endo.138.7.5255Google Scholar
Yamagishi, T. (2011). Trust: The evolutionary game of mind and society. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-53936-0Google Scholar
Yamagishi, T., & Yamagishi, M. (1994). Trust and commitment in the United States and Japan. Motivation and Emotion, 18(2), 129166. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02249397Google Scholar
Yamagishi, T., Akutsu, S., Cho, K., Inoue, Y., Li, Y., & Matsumoto, Y. (2015). Two-component model of general trust: Predicting behavioral trust from attitudinal trust. Social Cognition, 33(5), 436458. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2015.33.5.436Google Scholar
Yamagishi, T., Kikuchi, M., & Kosugi, M. (1999). Trust, gullibility, and social intelligence. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2(1), 145161. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00030Google Scholar
Yamagishi, T., Matsumoto, Y., Kiyonari, T., et al. (2017). Response time in economic games reflects different types of decision conflict for prosocial and proself individuals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(24), 63946399. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1608877114Google Scholar
Zak, P. J., & Knack, S. (2001). Trust and growth. The Economic Journal, 111(470), 295321. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00609Google Scholar
Zheng, S., Masuda, T., Matsunaga, M., et al. (2020). Oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and childhood adversity influence trust. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 121, Article 104840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104840Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×