Trust from the Perspective of Social Exchange: Gender and Heterogeneous Social Capital

Trust involves the wide range of aspects of social life, including personal economic transactions, an individual's recognition of government authority, business and trade conducted between different organizations. Sociologists, political scientists, economists, and even neuroscientists have all researched trust, but their work seldom draws on interdisciplinary cooperation. Therefore, this study combines behavioral economics with social network and social capital theory to interpret the various operational mechanisms responsible for trust behaviors. The results show that the more heterogeneous the social capital possessed by boys, the more trust they are willing to invest in processes of trust exchange. In trust exchanges, there is a significant influence on mutuality as individuals (trustors) are more willing to invest trust when, in a previous round, trustees received greater rewards.