This study investigates the neural basis of trustworthiness judgments in social cognition using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects viewed faces and assessed either trustworthiness or age, with trustworthiness ratings correlated to BOLD signal changes. The results show that bilateral amygdala and right insula showed increased activity in response to untrustworthy faces, while the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) showed enhanced signal change during explicit trustworthiness judgments. These findings support a model of social cognition, highlighting a functional dissociation between automatic engagement of the amygdala and intentional engagement of STS in social judgment. The study also demonstrates that amygdala activation is independent of facial emotional expressions, suggesting that it plays a role in processing trustworthiness regardless of emotional cues. Additionally, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex showed task-dependent activation, responding more strongly to trustworthy faces in explicit judgments. These results provide evidence for a neural substrate of social cognition that integrates automatic and intentional processes.This study investigates the neural basis of trustworthiness judgments in social cognition using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects viewed faces and assessed either trustworthiness or age, with trustworthiness ratings correlated to BOLD signal changes. The results show that bilateral amygdala and right insula showed increased activity in response to untrustworthy faces, while the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) showed enhanced signal change during explicit trustworthiness judgments. These findings support a model of social cognition, highlighting a functional dissociation between automatic engagement of the amygdala and intentional engagement of STS in social judgment. The study also demonstrates that amygdala activation is independent of facial emotional expressions, suggesting that it plays a role in processing trustworthiness regardless of emotional cues. Additionally, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex showed task-dependent activation, responding more strongly to trustworthy faces in explicit judgments. These results provide evidence for a neural substrate of social cognition that integrates automatic and intentional processes.