1
|
Sequeros CB, Hansen TF, Westergaard D, Louloudis I, Kalamajski S, Röder T, Rohde PD, Schwinn M, Clemmensen LH, Didriksen M, Nyegaard M, Hjalgrim H, Nielsen KR, Bruun MT, Ostrowski SR, Erikstrup C, Mikkelsen S, Sørensen E, Pedersen OBV, Brunak S, Banasik K, Giordano GN. A genome-wide association study of social trust in 33,882 Danish blood donors. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1402. [PMID: 38228779 PMCID: PMC10792163 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51636-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Social trust is a heritable trait that has been linked with physical health and longevity. In this study, we performed genome-wide association studies of self-reported social trust in n = 33,882 Danish blood donors. We observed genome-wide and local evidence of genetic similarity with other brain-related phenotypes and estimated the single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability of trust to be 6% (95% confidence interval = (2.1, 9.9)). In our discovery cohort (n = 25,819), we identified one significantly associated locus (lead variant: rs12776883) in an intronic enhancer region of PLPP4, a gene highly expressed in brain, kidneys, and testes. However, we could not replicate the signal in an independent set of donors who were phenotyped a year later (n = 8063). In the subsequent meta-analysis, we found a second significantly associated variant (rs71543507) in an intergenic enhancer region. Overall, our work confirms that social trust is heritable, and provides an initial look into the genetic factors that influence it.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Celia Burgos Sequeros
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Folkmann Hansen
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Neurology, Danish Headache Center, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Glostrup, Denmark
| | - David Westergaard
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Methods and Analysis, Statistics Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ioannis Louloudis
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Sebastian Kalamajski
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, CRC, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Timo Röder
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Palle Duun Rohde
- Genomic Medicine, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Gistrup, Denmark
| | - Michael Schwinn
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Line Harder Clemmensen
- Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Maria Didriksen
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mette Nyegaard
- Genomic Medicine, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Gistrup, Denmark
| | - Henrik Hjalgrim
- The Danish Cancer Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Haematology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kaspar René Nielsen
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Mie Topholm Bruun
- Clinical Immunology Research Unit, Department of Clinical Immunology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Sisse Rye Ostrowski
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Christian Erikstrup
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Susan Mikkelsen
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Erik Sørensen
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ole Birger Vestager Pedersen
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Immunology, Zealand University Hospital, Køge, Denmark
| | - Søren Brunak
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Karina Banasik
- Translational Disease Systems Biology, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Giuseppe Nicola Giordano
- Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, CRC, Lund University Diabetes Centre, Malmö, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Social mindfulness predicts concern for nature and immigrants across 36 nations. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22102. [PMID: 36543793 PMCID: PMC9772369 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25538-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
People cooperate every day in ways that range from largescale contributions that mitigate climate change to simple actions such as leaving another individual with choice - known as social mindfulness. It is not yet clear whether and how these complex and more simple forms of cooperation relate. Prior work has found that countries with individuals who made more socially mindful choices were linked to a higher country environmental performance - a proxy for complex cooperation. Here we replicated this initial finding in 41 samples around the world, demonstrating the robustness of the association between social mindfulness and environmental performance, and substantially built on it to show this relationship extended to a wide range of complex cooperative indices, tied closely to many current societal issues. We found that greater social mindfulness expressed by an individual was related to living in countries with more social capital, more community participation and reduced prejudice towards immigrants. Our findings speak to the symbiotic relationship between simple and more complex forms of cooperation in societies.
Collapse
|
3
|
McCauley TG, McCullough ME. Retrospective Self-Reported Childhood Experiences in Enriched Environments Uniquely Predict Prosocial Behavior and Personality Traits in Adulthood. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2022; 20:14747049221110603. [PMID: 35791506 PMCID: PMC10303491 DOI: 10.1177/14747049221110603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
What features of people's childhood environments go on to shape their prosocial behavior during adulthood? Past studies linking childhood environment to adult prosocial behavior have focused primarily on adverse features, thereby neglecting the possible influence of exposure to enriched environments (e.g., access to material resources, experiences with rich cooperative relationships, and interactions with morally exemplary role models). Here, we expand the investigation of childhood environmental quality to include consideration of enriching childhood experiences and their relation to adult prosociality. In two cross-sectional studies, we found promising evidence that enriched childhood environments are associated with adult moral behavior. In study 1 (N = 1,084 MTurk workers), we adapted an existing measure of enriched childhood environmental quality for retrospective recall of childhood experiences and found that subjects' recollections of their enriched childhood experiences are distinct from their recollections of adverse childhood experiences. In Study 2 (N = 2,208 MTurk workers), we found that a formative composite of subjects' recollections of enriched childhood experiences is positively associated with a variety of morally relevant traits in adulthood, including agreeableness, honesty-humility, altruism, endorsement of the principle of care, empathic responding to the plights of needy others, and charitable donations in an experimental setting, and that these associations held after controlling for childhood environmental adversity, childhood socioeconomic status, sex, and age. We also found evidence suggesting that some, but not all, of the relationship between enrichment and adult prosociality can be explained by a shared genetic correlation. We include a new seven-item measure as an appendix.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G. McCauley
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of
Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| | - Michael E. McCullough
- Department of Psychology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of
Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
The Australian Twins Economic Preferences Survey. Twin Res Hum Genet 2021; 24:365-370. [PMID: 34915959 DOI: 10.1017/thg.2021.49] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
This article describes the Australian Twins Economic Preferences Survey (ATEPS). The data set comprises a wide variety of preference and behavioral measures (risk aversion, impatience, ambiguity aversion, trust, confidence) elicited using incentivized decision tasks. One-thousand one-hundred twenty Australian adult twins (560 pairs) completed the survey, making it one of the largest data sets containing incentivized preference measures of twins. As the survey was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we also collected information on experiences related to the pandemic, along with a variety of questions on political attitudes and mental wellbeing. We hope that ATEPS can make a valuable contribution to social science and genetics research.
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world? Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across 31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables, greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries' better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating benevolence than on providing material benefits.
Collapse
|
6
|
Social mindfulness is normative when costs are low, but rapidly declines with increases in costs. JUDGMENT AND DECISION MAKING 2021. [DOI: 10.1017/s1930297500008585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
AbstractAs a complement to high-cost cooperation as assessed in economic games, the concept of social mindfulness focuses on low-cost acts of kindness. While social mindfulness seems quite natural, performed by many most of the time (reaching a level of 60–70 percent), what happens if such acts become more costly, and if costs become more salient? The present research replicates the prevalence of social mindfulness when costs are salient, but low. Yet we show that, with small increments in costs, the vast majority no longer exhibits social mindfulness. This holds even if we keep the outcomes for self high in comparison with the beneficiary. We conclude that the literature on social mindfulness should pay attention to cost. Clearly, if being socially mindful comes with high costs, this is not what most people are prepared to do. In contrast as long as costs are low and not salient, social mindfulness seems natural and normative.
Collapse
|
7
|
Spadaro G, Gangl K, Van Prooijen JW, Van Lange PAM, Mosso CO. Enhancing feelings of security: How institutional trust promotes interpersonal trust. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0237934. [PMID: 32916694 PMCID: PMC7486136 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal trust is an important source of social and economic development. Over decades, researchers debated the question whether and how public institutions influence interpersonal trust, making this relationship a much-discussed issue for scientific debate. However, experimental and behavioral data and insights on this relationship and the underlying psychological processes are rare and often inconsistent. The present set of studies tests a model which proposes that institutional trust indirectly affects trust among unrelated strangers by enhancing individuals' feelings of security. Study 1 (survey on trust in a broad spectrum of state institutions), Study 2 (nationally representative data from 16 countries), and Study 3 (experimental manipulation of institutional trust) provide convergent support for this hypothesis. Also, the results show that the effect remains consistent even after controlling for individual dispositions linked to interpersonal and institutional trust (Study 1 and 3) and country level indicators of institutional performance (Study 2). Taken together, these findings inform and contribute to the debate about the relationship between institutions and interpersonal trust by showing that when institutions are trusted, they increase feelings of security, and therefore promote interpersonal trust among strangers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giuliana Spadaro
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Katharina Gangl
- Department of Economic and Social Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS), Competence Centre, Insight Austria, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jan-Willem Van Prooijen
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- The Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Paul A. M. Van Lange
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | |
Collapse
|
8
|
Botsford J, Renneberg B. Autobiographical memories of interpersonal trust in borderline personality disorder. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul 2020; 7:14. [PMID: 32774863 PMCID: PMC7397652 DOI: 10.1186/s40479-020-00130-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Establishing and maintaining interpersonal trust is often difficult for patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). How we trust is influenced by prior trust experiences. METHODS For the investigation of trust experiences, autobiographical memories of n = 36 patients with BPD and n = 99 non-clinical controls were examined. Trust objects and interaction partners, emotional valence, perceived relevance and memory specificity were analyzed. RESULTS Content analyses revealed that patients with BPD recalled mostly situations in which their trust was failed by family members or romantic partners. In addition, patients with BPD considered memories with trust and mistrust more relevant for their current lives than the control group. Our results correspond with findings that BPD patients have difficulties trusting close others as well as with theoretical assumptions about deficits in mentalizing and epistemic trust in patients with BPD. CONCLUSION In conclusion, our findings should encourage clinical practitioners to address trust deficits towards close others, as well as omniscient negative memory retrieval and interpretation biases which might influence current trust behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janina Botsford
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Raum JK 24/215, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Babette Renneberg
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Raum JK 24/215, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
The role of propensity to trust and the five factor model across the trust process. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2018.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
10
|
Weinschenk AC, Dawes CT. The genetic and psychological underpinnings of generalized social trust. JOURNAL OF TRUST RESEARCH 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/21515581.2018.1497516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aaron C. Weinschenk
- Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Green Bay, WI, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Wu J, Balliet D, Tybur JM, Arai S, Van Lange PA, Yamagishi T. Life history strategy and human cooperation in economic games. EVOL HUM BEHAV 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2017.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
|
12
|
Abstract
Why do people distrust others in social exchange? To what degree, if at all, is distrust subject to genetic influences, and thus possibly heritable, and to what degree is it nurtured by families and immediate peers who encourage young people to be vigilant and suspicious of others? Answering these questions could provide fundamental clues about the sources of individual differences in the disposition to distrust, including how they may differ from the sources of individual differences in the disposition to trust. In this article, we report the results of a study of monozygotic and dizygotic female twins who were asked to decide either how much of a counterpart player's monetary endowment they wanted to take from their counterpart (i.e., distrust) or how much of their own monetary endowment they wanted to send to their counterpart (i.e., trust). Our results demonstrate that although the disposition to trust is explained to some extent by heritability but not by shared socialization, the disposition to distrust is explained by shared socialization but not by heritability. The sources of distrust are therefore distinct from the sources of trust in many ways.
Collapse
|
13
|
Abstract
AbstractA total of 80 authors working in a variety of scientific disciplines commented on the theoretical model of CLimate, Aggression, and Self-control in Humans (CLASH). The commentaries cover a wide range of issues, including the logic and assumptions of CLASH, the evidence in support of CLASH, and other possible causes of aggression and violence (e.g., wealth, income inequality, political circumstances, historic circumstances, pathogen stress). Some commentaries also provide data relevant to CLASH. Here we clarify the logic and assumptions of CLASH and discusses its extensions and boundary conditions. We also offer suggestions for future research. Regardless of whether none, some, or all of CLASH is found to be true, we hope it will stimulate future research on the link between climate and human behavior. Climate is one of the most presing issues of our time.
Collapse
|
14
|
Abstract
Behavioral traits generally show moderate to strong genetic influence, with heritability estimates of around 50%. Some recent research has suggested that trust may be an exception because it is more strongly influenced by social interactions. In a sample of over 7,000 adolescent twins from the United Kingdom’s Twins Early Development Study, we found broad sense heritability estimates of 57% for generalized trust and 51% for trust in friends. Genomic-relatedness-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) estimates in the same sample indicate that 21% of the narrow sense genetic variance can be explained by common single nucleotide polymorphisms for generalized trust and 43% for trust in friends. As expected, this implies a large amount of unexplained heritability, although power is low for estimating DNA-based heritability. The missing heritability may be accounted for by interactions between DNA and the social environment during development or via gene–environment correlations with rare variants. How these genes and environments correlate seem especially important for the development of trust.
Collapse
|
15
|
Chirumbolo A, Leone L, Desimoni M. The interpersonal roots of politics: Social value orientation, socio-political attitudes and prejudice. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
|
16
|
Polymorphism of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Modulates Behavioral and Attitudinal Trust among Men but Not Women. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0137089. [PMID: 26444016 PMCID: PMC4621758 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A relationship between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and behavioral and attitudinal trust has been suggested, but the nature of this relationship has not yet been established. We obtained behavioral trust data from 470 Japanese participants (242 women) aged 20–59 years, together with their levels of general trust and personality traits (NEO-FFI). Saliva buccal swabs were collected from 411 of these 470 participants and used for genotyping of OXTR rs53576. Our participants were found to have more AA alleles (40%) than GG alleles (12%). The GG men were more trusting and also rated higher on attitudinal trust than AA men, and this difference did not diminish when personality traits were controlled for. However, this pattern was not observed among women. In addition, controlling for attitudinal trust reduced the difference in behavioral trust among men to a non-significant level, but the difference in attitudinal trust remained significant when behavioral trust was controlled. These results indicate that the OXTR genotype affects attitudinal trust as part of an individual’s relatively stable disposition, and further affects behavioral trust through changes in attitudinal trust.
Collapse
|
17
|
Abstract
Trust is a key aspect of various social interactions. Correspondingly, trust has been heavily studied across different scientific disciplines. However, an integration of the diverse research and literature is still missing. Addressing this issue, we review several hundred articles on interpersonal trust among strangers and integrate them into a coherent framework, explaining trust behavior among unfamiliar agents based on an interaction between situational features and distinct personality characteristics. Understanding trust as a decision under risk, we distill 3 core components of trust behavior from the extant literature: attitudes toward risky prospects (i.e., risk aversion and loss aversion), trustworthiness expectations, and betrayal sensitivity. Each of these refers to a distinct set of causal determinants, including personality characteristics (anxiety/fear, trustworthiness, and forgiveness) which can be localized in the space defined by models of basic personality structure (e.g., the Five-Factor Model and the HEXACO model of personality). In sum, the review contributes to the understanding of trust behavior by linking and integrating the findings from various fields of trust research. Additionally, it provides fruitful directions and implications for future research.
Collapse
|
18
|
Abstract
An important debate within the trust literature is whether trust is modified by social experiences or resistant to change despite changing social circumstances. We address this debate by designing and implementing an experiment that exposes participants to a high or low trust environment and compares their change in generalized trust. We find that the experimental condition influences change in generalized trust, particularly for participants whose prior level of trust was mismatched with their experimental condition. The implications of these results for theories on the sources of trust are discussed.
Collapse
|
19
|
|