Trust has been called a core social motive [6]. Research on interpersonal trust extends back to Rotter’s [7] seminal research on trust. Trust, according to Rotter, is defined as the generalized expectancy that good things will follow from trusting the trustee or referent. This definition was later expanded to a “willingness to be vulnerable” to another person [8]. Another aspect Mayer et al.’s [8] paper added to the trust literature is the differentiation of trust from its antecedents. Jones and Shah [9] further refine the concept of trust by differentiating trust actions, trust beliefs, and trust intentions.
Trust actions are the behaviors one performs when trusting; in other words, trust actions are the behaviors that make oneself vulnerable …show more content…
These perceptions are formed as a trustor interprets and ascribes motives to the trustees’ actions [16]. It is important to note these are the ascribed beliefs of the trustor and are not necessarily factual. For example, Ponzi schemes manipulate perceptions of trust beliefs to scam investors out of money [17]. All scams attempt to exploit trust beliefs such as building rapport and ensuring communication appears authentic [18]. In contrast, a trustee may be trustworthy, but the trustor inaccurately does not trust the trustee. Although the perceptions may not be accurate, they infer an information-processing model to trust actions over time [9]. As the relationship develops, more information becomes known over time and is available to guide trustworthiness beliefs. As interactions mature, the trustor increasingly depends on the behavior of the trustee rather than one’s own personal dispositional factors, such as propensity to trust, when making trust evaluations [9, 19]. Lastly, trust intentions are the declared willingness to be vulnerable. It is important to note, trust intentions are differentiated from trust actions, which are the actual behaviors. For example, stating you trust someone enough to play the trust fall game (intentions) is different from actually falling backwards with the expectation of being caught (action). Trust intentions are a motive structure, whereas actions are the specific
Trust actions are the behaviors one performs when trusting; in other words, trust actions are the behaviors that make oneself vulnerable …show more content…
These perceptions are formed as a trustor interprets and ascribes motives to the trustees’ actions [16]. It is important to note these are the ascribed beliefs of the trustor and are not necessarily factual. For example, Ponzi schemes manipulate perceptions of trust beliefs to scam investors out of money [17]. All scams attempt to exploit trust beliefs such as building rapport and ensuring communication appears authentic [18]. In contrast, a trustee may be trustworthy, but the trustor inaccurately does not trust the trustee. Although the perceptions may not be accurate, they infer an information-processing model to trust actions over time [9]. As the relationship develops, more information becomes known over time and is available to guide trustworthiness beliefs. As interactions mature, the trustor increasingly depends on the behavior of the trustee rather than one’s own personal dispositional factors, such as propensity to trust, when making trust evaluations [9, 19]. Lastly, trust intentions are the declared willingness to be vulnerable. It is important to note, trust intentions are differentiated from trust actions, which are the actual behaviors. For example, stating you trust someone enough to play the trust fall game (intentions) is different from actually falling backwards with the expectation of being caught (action). Trust intentions are a motive structure, whereas actions are the specific