The Interpersonal Trust Characteristics of 4–6‐Year‐Old Children in the Trust Game

ABSTRACT Interpersonal trust, a key factor in early social development, reflects children's expectations of others' reliability in social exchanges. However, existing research has not sufficiently characterized its dynamic mechanisms in preschoolers. Through three consecutive trust games ( N = 128, 128, and 142 children aged 4–6 years), this study systematically examined factors influencing trust in young children, including mechanisms of trust establishment, breach, and repair. Experiment 1 established baseline effects by examining how initial promises from familiar versus unfamiliar individuals (teachers vs. strangers) influence trust formation. Results showed that merely making promises enhances trust, particularly toward familiar adults. Experiment 2 examined how promise fulfillment outcomes dynamically shape trust maintenance or violation. Findings indicated that keeping promises strengthens trust, whereas broken promises by strangers significantly reduce children's trust. Experiment 3 investigated trust repair by comparing apologies with compensation after promise breaches. Results showed that compensation restores trust more effectively than apologies, especially in older preschoolers. Developmental analyses revealed emerging gender differences (girls preferred teachers more) and age‐related shifts in contingency monitoring. These findings outline a developmental trajectory: children's trust evolves from static role dependence to dynamic behavioral evaluation. This transition has crucial implications for early educational interventions targeting trust competencies.