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Until recently the scientific study of preferences was beyond the scope of the social and biological sciences because we lacked the tools for measuring preferences. In the meantime, however, experimental economists and psychologists have developed such tools. Recent evidence indicates that neurobiological factors such as oxytocin, vasopressin and testosterone affect human preferences. I will shortly touch on this research but the main focus of my presentation is directed towards the question how “community participation” affects preferences. I take advantage of the possibility to affect individual participation in internet communities to show that community participation renders them generally more altruistic and trusting towards anonymous strangers. Moreover, a higher density of community interactions also causes a boost in trust towards those who reciprocate favours while it diminishes trust towards those who fail to reciprocate, thus generating a much stronger implicit punishment for untrustworthy individuals. Finally, increased social interaction in communities also enhances the strategic sophistication of individuals and raises the prevalence of Machiavellian strategies. These results indicate that the community interactions may have a deep impact on individuals’ preferences, beliefs, and behaviors, lending support to sociological views of society.