Trust Attitudes Research Articles

The Epistemology of Trust and Realist Effect in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House

Supritha Rajan, “The Epistemology of Trust and Realist Effect in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House” (pp. 64–106) This essay argues that the narrative structure of Charles Dickens’s Bleak House (1852–1853), which repeatedly shifts from the omniscient narrator’s skeptical stance to Esther’s trusting disposition, demonstrates how skepticism is ultimately grounded in an epistemology of trust. Trust constitutes a non-skepticist, affective attitude whose certitude in the phenomenal world is not subject to demonstrative proof. The latter model of trust is not only fundamental to epistemology, but also to ethical relations and practical life. The important role that trust plays in everyday life also poses relevance to our understanding of realist representation. Using Bleak House as its novelistic example, this essay considers realism as a mode that achieves its effect by inviting readers to adopt an attitude of trust. Such an account runs counter to traditional epistemologies of realism, which have typically aligned it with post-Cartesian skepticism.

Recruitment and retention of homeless individuals with mental illness in a housing first intervention study.

BackgroundHomeless individuals with mental illness are challenging to recruit and retain in longitudinal research studies. The present study uses information from the Vancouver site of a Canadian multi-city longitudinal randomized controlled trial on housing first interventions for homeless individuals. We were able to recruit 500 participants and retain large number of homeless individuals with mental illness; 92% of the participants completed the 6-month follow up interview, 84% the 24-month follow up, while 80% completed all follow-up visits of the study.PurposeIn this article, we describe the strategies and practices that we considered as critical for successful recruitment and retention or participants in the study.MethodsWe discuss issues pertaining to research staff hiring and training, involvement of peers, relationship building with research participants, and the use of technology and social media, and managing challenging situations in the context of recruitment and retention of marginalized individuals.ConclusionsRecruitment and retention of homeless participant with mental illness in longitudinal studies is feasible. It requires flexible, unconventional and culturally competent strategies. Longitudinal research projects with vulnerable and hidden populations may benefit from extensive outreach work and collaborative approaches that are based on attitudes of mutual respect, contextual knowledge and trust.

Trust and Ethnic Tolerance in the Face of Social Change

The primary goals of this article are to examine conceptual approaches to the study of trust, summarize the tools that can be used in such studies, and use empirical data to elucidate the concept of a “culture of trust.” It also discusses certain problems involved in the empirical study of generalized trust and concludes that ethnic tolerance is one element of a culture of trust. The article presents the results of a 2014 sociological study of Muscovites that was carried out using formalized interviews. This study examined the attitude of trust and subjective bases of trust and mistrust that have developed within Moscow society. A three-stage random territorial probability sampling was used, distributed across administrative districts proportional to their population sizes. The 800-respondent sample was representative in terms of sex and age. Using a simple 4-point scale, our study found that Moscow’s population is strongly polarized in terms of trust—47.6 percent are inclined to be trusting while 46.5 percent are not. Trust networks in Moscow are primarily built around close family and friends. There is a clear lack of basic trust. The study’s results suggest that generalized trust and ethnic tolerance are interrelated. What links these processes are the collaborative relationships that form based on ties of friendship and neighborliness.

A longitudinal and experimental study of the impact of knowledge on the bases of institutional trust.

This study examined a knowledge-centered theory of institutional trust development. In the context of trust in water regulatory institutions, the moderating impact of knowledge was tested to determine if there were longitudinal changes in the bases of institutional trust as a function of increases in knowledge about a target institution. We hypothesized that as people learn about an institution with which they were previously unfamiliar, they begin to form more nuanced perceptions, distinguishing the new institution from other institutions and relying less upon their generalized trust to estimate their trust in that institution. Prior to having specific, differential information about a new institution, we expected institutional trust to be a function of generalized trust variables such as dispositional trust and trust in government. The longitudinal experiment involved 185 college students randomly assigned to one of three information conditions. Every 3 months for 15 months, participants read information about water regulatory institutions or a control institution. At each time point, participants reported their trust in and perceptions of the trust- and distrust-worthiness of the water regulatory institutions. Participants also completed measures of knowledge of water regulatory institutions, dispositional trust, and governmental trust. Our manipulation check indicated that, as expected, those in the experimental group increased in subjective knowledge of water regulatory institutions to a greater extent than those in the control condition. Consistent with our hypotheses, there was some evidence that, compared to the control group, the experimental group relied less on their general trust in government as a basis for their trust in water regulatory institutions. However, contrary to our hypotheses, there was no evidence the experimental group relied less on dispositional trust as a basis for institutional trust. There also was some evidence the experimental group’s trust in water regulatory institutions was less affected by fluctuations of trustworthiness (but not distrustworthiness) perceptions over time. This suggests that knowledge results in the development of more stable institutional trust attitudes, but that trustworthiness and distrustworthiness perceptions may operate somewhat differently when impacting trust in specific institutions.

Stability in the informal value transfer systems: norms of trust or institutions of control?

Informal financial operations exist in the shadow of official regulation and cannot be protected by the formal legal instruments, therefore raising concerns about the enforcement of obligations taken by their participants. This paper analyzes two alternative types of auxiliary institutions, which can coordinate expectations of the members of informal value transfer systems, namely attitudes of trust and norms of social control. It offers some preliminary approaches to creating a game-theoretic model of partner interaction in the informal value transfer system. It also sheds light on the perspectives of further studies in this area of institutional economics.

Trust and civic engagement: Evidence from six Latin American cities

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the association between revealed attitudes of trust and participation in voluntary organisations and makes a contribution to the growing literature on the relation between attitudes, preferences, behaviour, and social participation (civic engagement). A distinguishing characteristic of this study is that it employs a unique data set that combines experimental and survey data of more than 3000 individuals of six Latin American cities. Results of the Trust Game show that trust is not significantly associated with civic engagement and the intensity of that engagement.

Mentalizing Family Violence Part 2: Techniques and Interventions.

This is the second of two companion papers that provide an overview of mentalization-based concepts and techniques when working with the seeming "mindlessness" of intra-family violence. The focus of this paper is on general mentalization-oriented approaches and specific interventions that aim to (1) disrupt the non-mentalizing cycles that can generate intra-family violence and (2) encourage the emergence of patterns of family interactions that provide the foundation for non-violent alternatives. Various playful exercises and activities are described, including the taking of "mental state snapshots" and "selfies" in sessions and staging inverted role-plays, as well as using theatrical masks and creating body-mind maps and scans. These can make "chronic" relationship issues come alive in session and permit "here and now" experiences that generate a safe context for mentalizing to take place. At the core of the work is the continuous focus on integrating experience and reflection. Without acute awareness of the thoughts and feelings occurring in the sessions, mere reflection is not likely to enable change. By increasing mentalizing in the family system, family members' trusting attitudes grow, both within and outside the family.

Effects of health information literacy on ability of network knowledge acquisition among breast cancer patients

Objective To investigate the health information literacy level of breast cancer patients, and discuss its influence on the network knowledge acquisition. Methods A total of 1 130 breast cancer patients from four tertiary comprehensive hospitals in Zhengzhou were studied by using the general data questionnaire, the health information literacy self-rating depression scale and the network knowledge acquisition questionnaire. The cross-sectional study was used in the research. Results Breast cancer patients who had certain health information literacy level accounted for 32.9% (372/1 130) . The health information application was the dimension with the lowest literacy level 8.6% (97/1 130) . The health information literacy of patients living in cities, having a higher education level and having a disease course longer than five years, was relatively high (P<0.05) . The breast cancer patients mainly searched the professional medical websites, and the contents were mainly about therapeutic schedule, pharmacy scheme, symptoms, complications and other contents. 62.6% of such patients were suspicious of the network information and would re-verify it. Patients having no health information literacy mainly searched the profitable commercial charging websites, and the contents were mainly about diet guide, exercise training and hospitals. 54.4% of such patients were convinced of the network information. Trust attitudes of the patients in two groups towards the network knowledge were obviously different (P<0.05) . Conclusions The health information literacy level of breast cancer patients is relatively low. The clinic medical workers should conduct personalized training and guidance based on the condition of health information literacy of breast cancer patients, in order to improve the patients′ ability to acquire network knowledge and increase patients′ execution force in medical decisions. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Health literacy; Information literacy; Network; Knowledge acquisition

Labour Market Insecurity and Generalized Trust in Welfare State Context

How does labour market insecurity influence generalized social trust? And what role does the welfare state play in moderating this relationship? While the widespread impact of labour market insecurity has become increasingly recognized, its effect on workers’ social attitudes remains under-explored. In particular, little is known about the influence that job insecurity has on generalized social trust. Understanding the relationship between employment insecurity and social trust is important not only because reductions in trust can have important downstream consequences, but also because trust is in itself an important resource for dealing with periods of uncertainty. Investigating the relationship between labour market insecurity and trust also opens up a new perspective on the relationship between welfare states and trust. Social policies such as unemployment benefits and active labour market policies insulate workers from the effects of insecurity, lessening the effect of insecurity on trust. The interaction between individual insecurity, national unemployment support, and social trust attitudes thus provides a new perspective on the often posited link between trust and welfare states. Using multi-level modelling, this article addresses both questions directly. Combining data from the first six waves of the European Social Survey with measures of workers’ labour market insecurity, this article demonstrates that labour market insecurity does has a strong and persistent negative effect on social trust. Moreover, by embedding individual workers in national contexts, this article also shows that social policy can play an important role in alleviating the strain of insecurity on trust.

Религиозность в контексте культуры доверия

Trust and religiosity are examined as traditional cultural bases for social solidarity. Religiosity is studied through the lens of such concepts as “religious identity” and “ceremonial religiosity”. This work demonstrates the influence of religious identity and ceremonial religiosity on the attitudes of general, interpersonal and institutional trust. Emile Durkheim’s sociological theses are used in the interpretation of survey results. The analysis is based on the results of surveys conducted from 2014 to 2016 in the Moscow region, while drawing comparison to surveys conducted in Astrakhan, Kaliningrad, Karelia and Stavropol regions (3-step random territorial sampling, representative on the basis of gender and age; 1000–1200 respondents in each region). The study shows that intense religious identity which implies a strong feeling of connection with people of the same faith can be considered a factor which contributes to maintaining a culture of trust. Respondents with strong religious identity have higher general, interpersonal and institutional trust whereas “responsibility” and “conscience” as moral grounds for trust are more often seen as a pre-agreement guarantee of complying with treaty commitments. Respondents who demonstrate “ceremonial religiosity” have more pronounced attitudes of normative ethnic tolerance, it being a readiness to accept a person of another ethnicity as a citizen of Russia and a resident of their city, with said attitudes creating a basis for a culture of trust. It is argued that in the basis of ceremonial religiosity, interethnic tolerance and trust lays a common societal mechanism, which is the need to belong to a certain unit, together with solidaristic social orientations. Mass religiosity of Russians today carries out functions such as social solidarity and consolidation, which the state has lost its hold of, and which have so far not been taken up by civil society. Russian society is in need of a civil religion which would be based, among other things, on trust and interethnic harmony, and which can be a system of uniting secular and religious values, as well as symbols which all religions share in common; moreover, there is a need for civil ceremonies which would maintain a feeling of belonging to “sacred” values as well as the highest order.

The Idea of Dialogue, Trust and Reconciliation in the Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth

Abstract The purpose of this article is to present the Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth organized by the brothers of Taizé Community as an event building a relationship of dialogue, trust and reconciliation between nations and cultures. The article features an in-depth discussion of the elements of youth meetings and their impact on developing an attitude of dialogue and trust. We will briefly discuss the means used by the brothers to develop a dialogue between people, as well as the methods of spreading the idea of dialogue, trust and solidarity in interpersonal and international relations.

The role of risk and trust attitudes in explaining residential energy demand: Evidence from the United Kingdom

Recent research into the determinants of household energy consumption has aimed to incorporate findings from economics, sociology and psychology in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors determining energy demand. The current paper contributes to this nascent stream of literature by studying the relationship between risk attitudes, trust propensity and energy consumption at the household level. Drawing on the British Household Panel Survey, a well-known data set in the context of energy studies, I show that trust is negatively correlated with household energy demand, while higher risk tolerance leads to increases in residential energy use. Potential explanations for these findings are investigated, suggesting that risk preferences may be related with overall appliance stock and the size of the rebound effect.

Who Starts a Self-Managed Superannuation Fund and Why?

Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) – small retirement savings funds with four or fewer members – now manage almost one third of retirement savings in Australia, and serve over one million members. The number of SMSFs has increased to more than half a million in two decades. Yet little is known about the reasons people start the funds and how they are operated. We combine survey responses of more than 500 SMSF members and 500 large superannuation fund members to understand the motivation of SMSF members and how they compare with similar people who stay with a large fund. Control over investments and tax minimisation are the most common reasons for starting a fund. Satisfaction with large funds and unwillingness to take on the administrative burden of self-management are the most common reasons for not doing so. SMSF members do not show more financial skill than non-members, but they do express a higher risk tolerance and a more trusting attitude to financial professionals. We present evidence that the majority of SMSF members start their funds at the suggestion of financial professionals. We also show that the types of people who say they are thinking about starting a SMSF are different in significant ways from the types of people who end up as SMSF members, further evidence for the influence of the advice industry.

Terrorism’s effects on social capital in European countries

Studies have shown that major terrorist events have the potential to exert significant influence on citizens’ risk-perceptions, (in) security sentiments, values and behavioral attitudes towards state institutions and their fellow citizens. Within this growing strand of literature, this paper, allowing for a cohort of demographic and socioeconomic traits, examines the extent to which major terrorist events in four European countries affected two key aspects of social capital, namely institutional and social trust. The data used are drawn from European Social Surveys for the years 2004, 2012 and 2014. Results reported indicate that terrorist incidents can trigger social dynamics that affect trust attitudes; however, these effects are short-lived and dissipate rapidly.

Relation between Trust Attitudes Toward Automation, Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions, and Big Five Personality Traits

Automation has been widely used in interactions with smartphones, computers, and other machinery in recent decades. Studies have shown that inappropriate reliance on automation can lead to unexpected and even catastrophic results. Trust is conceived as an intervening variable between user intention and actions involving reliance on automation. It is generally believed that trust is dynamic and an individual’s culture or personality may influence automation use through changes in trust. To better understand how cultural and individual differences may affect a person’s trust and resulting behaviors, the present study examined the effects of cultural characteristics and personality traits on reported trust in automation in U.S., Taiwanese and Turkish populations. The results showed individual differences significantly affected human trust in automation across the three cultures.

Participants’ Role Expectations in Genetics Research and Re-consent: Revising the Theory and Methods of Mental Models Research Relating to Roles

The rise of large cohort-based health research that includes genetic components has increased the communication challenges for researchers. Controversies have been amplified over requirements for re-consent, return of results, and privacy protections, among other issues. This study extended research on the impact that the perceived role of “research participant” might have on communication expectations to illuminate research participants’ preferences for re-consent. The study employed an online survey of participants in a long-standing cancer genetics registry. Results confirmed previous exploratory findings that research participants endorse multiple mental models of participant roles in research (doctor–patient, collaborator, donor, legal contract, etc.). Regression analyses indicated that high and low salience of different models of the role of research participant are related to different communication expectations. However, the pattern of relationships among roles is relevant. The results of the regression analysis also indicated that preference for mandatory re-consent and its relationship to mental models of roles are related to attitudes of trust, benefits, and informational risks. The discussion identifies implications as including the use of explicit approaches to address role relationships in communication with research participants. It also points to implications for methodological approaches in mental model research.

How Does External Conflict Impact Social Trust? Evidence from the 9/11 Attacks as a Natural Experiment

ABSTRACTSocial trust has enchanted social scientists due to its importance for both cooperation within societies and economic performance. This article provides a novel empirical study of whether external conflict affects trust. The possible ways that conflict could be related to trust are theoretically validated by two hypotheses on social group behavior. To identify the effect of external conflict on within-society trust, I interpret U.S. General Social Survey (GSS) trust data within a natural experiment with the terror attacks of 9/11 observed as the external conflict. Difference-in-differences estimations are in favor of the hypothesis that positive trust attitudes within a group are independent from external conflict.

The dimensionality of trust-relevant constructs in four institutional domains: results from confirmatory factor analyses

ABSTRACTUsing confirmatory factor analyses and multiple indicators per construct, we examined a number of theoretically derived factor structures pertaining to numerous trust-relevant constructs (from 9 to 12) across four institutional contexts (police, local governance, natural resources, state governance) and multiple participant-types (college students via an online survey, community residents as part of a city's budget engagement activity, a random sample of rural landowners, and a national sample of adult Americans via an Amazon Mechanical Turk study). Across studies, a number of common findings emerged. First, the best fitting models in each study maintained separate factors for each trust-relevant construct. Furthermore, post hoc analyses involving addition of higher-order factors tended to fit better than collapsing of factors. Second, dispositional trust was easily distinguishable from the other trust-related constructs, and positive and negative constructs were often distinguishable. However, the items reflecting positive trust attitude constructs or positive trustworthiness perceptions showed low discriminant validity. Differences in findings between studies raise questions warranting further investigation in future research, including differences in correlations among latent constructs varying from very high (e.g. 12 inter-factor correlations above .9 in Study 2) to more moderate (e.g. only three correlations above .8 in Study 4). Further, the results from one study (Study 4) suggested that legitimacy, fairness, and voice were especially highly correlated and may form a single higher-order factor, but the other studies did not. Future research is needed to determine when and why different higher-order factor structures may emerge in different institutional contexts or with different samples.

The Rational and Behavioral Flattening Forces Against the Decline of Crowdfunding Contributions at Geographic Distance

I analyze the outcome of geographic patterns of online peer-to-peer loans using transactions data from three of the largest U.K. platforms. Given the decline of loan value with distance, I study the underlying rational and behavioral reasons. According to the rational view, distant lenders suffer from information disadvantage compared to local lenders and require higher interest rate to bear adverse selection risks. In contrast, the behavioral view argues that lenders located in regions whose people exhibit higher levels of trust attitude towards strangers are more willing to extend their radius of transaction to distant borrowers. Both explanations receive empirical support.

E-banking and consumer behavior: the role of switching costs

The objective of this study was to examine the behavior of consumer continuing intention to use e-banking. In the model, the consumer’s continuance intention was designed as target variable which affected by perceived relationship marketing and electronic service quality (e-serqual) as well as mediated by the attitude of consumer satisfaction and trust, and moderated by the magnitude of perceived switching costs. Data were gathered from 200 e-banking users, by using the convenience sampling method, and the participants as the subject for this study were Business Administration Students of Krisnadwipayana University, Jakarta – Indonesia. The result indicated that the correlation between relationship marketing and electronic service quality was to be reciprocal, and mutually positive and significant. In addition, perceived e-serqual had only positive effects on customer statisfaction and customer trust. But both of the observed key variables (relationship marketing and electronic service quality) showed no direct or indirect effects on consumer intention to continue using e-banking either through mediation of customer satisfaction and customer trust. However, after being given the moderating effect by low and high level of switching costs, it turned out that switching costs quite moderate significantly consumer intentions to continue using e-banking. Thus in this study, the findings of unsignificant effects were also discussed in order to provide theoretically and practically implication.