How to build trust

How to build trust

Trust is a fundamental component of human social interactions, influencing relationships at both individual and societal levels. It plays a crucial role in various domains, including economic exchanges, political systems, and personal relationships. Understanding the factors that influence trust can provide insights into social dynamics and cooperation.

Factors Influencing Trust

Interpersonal Trust

Interpersonal trust is shaped by a variety of factors, including the reputation of the trustee and the closeness of the relationship between the trustor and trustee. These factors are significant predictors of trustworthiness outcomes (Hancock et al., 2023). Additionally, relational distance, or the social proximity between individuals, affects trust levels, with closer relationships generally fostering higher trust (Jing et al., 2020).

Biological Influences

Biological factors also play a role in trust. Oxytocin, a neuropeptide, has been shown to increase trust by enhancing social interactions and willingness to accept social risks (Kosfeld et al., 2005; Damasio, 2005). Conversely, testosterone can decrease trust, particularly in individuals who are naturally more trusting, by increasing social vigilance and preparing individuals for competition (Bos, Terburg and Van Honk, 2010).

Trust in Different Contexts

Cultural and Environmental Contexts

Trust levels vary across different cultural and environmental contexts. In more collectivistic societies with restrictive ecocultural features, trust in close relationships is stronger, while trust in distant others is higher in less restrictive environments (Jing et al., 2020). This suggests that societal culture and ecological factors significantly influence trust dynamics.

Trust in Automation and Technology

The concept of trust extends beyond human interactions to include trust in automation and technology. Factors such as perceived humanness and transparency of automated aids influence trust levels. Human-like intentionality and transparency are crucial in building trust in non-human entities (Calhoun et al., 2019; Cominelli et al., 2021).

Mechanisms of Trust

Neural Correlates

Trust involves specific neural mechanisms. The paracingulate cortex is involved in building trust by inferring intentions, while the ventral tegmental area and septal area are associated with conditional and unconditional trust, respectively. These neural systems support reciprocal exchanges beyond kinship (Krueger et al., 2007).

Personal vs. General Trust

Personal trust, which involves direct relationships, promotes cooperation more effectively than general trust. This personal trust mechanism likely evolved to sustain social cohesion in small groups, a trait that persists in modern social structures (Acedo-Carmona and Gomila, 2014).

In conclusion, trust is a multifaceted construct influenced by interpersonal, biological, cultural, and technological factors. Understanding these influences can enhance our comprehension of social interactions and the development of cooperative behaviors in various contexts.

 

References

Hancock, P., Kessler, T., Kaplan, A., Stowers, K., Brill, J., Billings, D., Schaefer, K., & Szalma, J., 2023. How and why humans trust: A meta-analysis and elaborated model. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1081086

Jing, Y., Cai, H., Bond, M., Li, Y., Stivers, A., & Tan, Q., 2020. Levels of interpersonal trust across different types of environment: The micro-macro interplay between relational distance and human ecology.. Journal of experimental psychology. General. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000997

Kosfeld, M., Heinrichs, M., Zak, P., Fischbacher, U., & Fehr, E., 2005. Oxytocin increases trust in humans. Nature, 435, pp. 673-676. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03701

Bos, P., Terburg, D., & Van Honk, J., 2010. Testosterone decreases trust in socially naïve humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107, pp. 9991 – 9995. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0911700107

Krueger, F., McCabe, K., Moll, J., Kriegeskorte, N., Zahn, R., Strenziok, M., Heinecke, A., & Grafman, J., 2007. Neural correlates of trust. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, pp. 20084 – 20089. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710103104

Damasio, A., 2005. Human behaviour: Brain trust. Nature, 435, pp. 571-572. https://doi.org/10.1038/435571a

Calhoun, C., Bobko, P., Gallimore, J., & Lyons, J., 2019. Linking precursors of interpersonal trust to human-automation trust: An expanded typology and exploratory experiment. Journal of Trust Research, 9, pp. 28 – 46. https://doi.org/10.1080/21515581.2019.1579730

Acedo-Carmona, C., & Gomila, A., 2014. Personal Trust Increases Cooperation beyond General Trust. PLoS ONE, 9. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0105559

Cominelli, L., Feri, F., Garofalo, R., Giannetti, C., Meléndez-Jiménez, M., Greco, A., Nardelli, M., Scilingo, E., & Kirchkamp, O., 2021. Promises and trust in human–robot interaction. Scientific Reports, 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88622-9