Trust is a tricky business. On the one hand, it's a necessary condition many worthwhile things: child care, friendships, etc. On the other hand, putting your in the wrong place often carries a high .
, why do we trust at all? Well, because it feels good. people place their trust in an individual or an institution, their brains release oxytocin, a hormone that pleasurable feelings and triggers the herding instinct that prompts humans to with one another. Scientists have found that exposure this hormone puts us in a trusting : In a Swiss study, researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of half the subjects; those subjects were ready to lend significantly higher amounts of money to strangers than were their who inhaled something else.
for us, we also have a sixth sense for dishonesty that may us. A Canadian study found that children as young as 14 months can differentiate a credible person and a dishonest one. Sixty toddlers were each to an adult tester holding a plastic container. The tester would ask, “ What's in here?” before looking into the container, smiling, and exclaiming,“ Wow!” Each subject was then invited to look . Half of them found a toy; the other half the container was empty——and realized the tester had them.
Among the children who had not been tricked, the majority were to cooperate with the tester in learning a new skill, demonstrating that they trusted his leadership. , only five of the 30 children paired with the“” tester participated in a follow-up activity.