TRUST, MOOD, AND OUTCOMES OF FRIENDSHIP DETERMINE PREFERENCES FOR REAL VERSUS ERSATZ SOCIAL CAPITAL

Societal-level social capital ultimately rests upon individual attitud es and behaviors. This study investigated the determinants of individu als' preferences for real versus ersatz social activities. Ersatz soci al activities are substitutes for true social interaction; they involv e interaction with media or media characters rather than other individ uals. Undergraduates (N = 144) chose activities from pairs of social a nd ersatz exemplars, The participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, In two of these conditions, they wrote essays design ed to create either a positive or negative mood; in the other two cond itions, they read essays designed to highlight either the costs or ben efits of friendship. Results indicated that individuals low in trust w ere susceptible to situational influences. Low-trust individuals chose more real social activities when in a positive mood or when benefits of friendship were salient, whereas they chose ersatz social activitie s when in a bad mood or when costs of friendship were salient, High-tr uss individuals showed relatively high preference for real social inte ractions regardless of mood or the salience of costs and benefits. The se results suggest that appropriate interventions should overcome low trust to build social capital.