Lifetime stressor exposure is associated with altered trust formation and social learning in dynamic interactions.

In 168 adults, greater lifetime stressor exposure (STRAIN) is linked to lower initial trust, stronger negativity bias, and higher uncertainty about others’ intentions.

• Why it matters: Trust depends on how people form priors and update beliefs, but the cognitive mechanisms connecting lifetime adversity to trust dynamics are not well characterized.
• What they did: Participants completed STRAIN and a repeated trust game adapted for dynamic interactions, analyzed with Hierarchical Gaussian Filtering to model trust formation, intention learning, and adaptation.
• The result: Stress-linked pessimistic priors co-occur with greater belief volatility and more differentiation between prosocial and selfish trustees, implying recalibration of trust-related cognition rather than poorer partner reading.

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