Abstract
Because the choice to trust is inherently risky, people naturally assess others’ trustworthiness as a necessary precondition for trusting behavior. This conscious process depends on a type of relational schema - what we call a ‘trust schema’ - that provides an explicit cognitive starting point in most models of trust development. In this paper, we show that the process of trust development can not only start earlier than previously considered, but that it can also start nonconsciously. We present three experiments that display the automatic activation of individuals’ trust schemas via positive or negative, relational or non-relational subliminal cues. The results indicate that, although non-relational cues had no significant effects, positive relational cues changed affective reactions to potential reciprocity, increased behavioral trust without conscious awareness, and enhanced the exchange of information on interests and priorities in two-party negotiations.
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