Generalized trust explained

Generalized trust, also known as spontaneous sociability,^[1] is the trust that people have in their fellow members of society in general. It is often measured in survey-based social science research by asking the question, "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?" This question has been included in the General Social Surveys in the United States, the World Values Survey, and the European Social Surveys.^{[2] [3]} Unlike many other human behavioral traits, generalized trust has been found to exhibit a moderate to low heritability in behavior genetic studies, implying that culture is more important in the development of such trust than is genetics. The significant cross-national variation in levels of generalized trust also supports a significant role for cultural factors.^[4] It has been found to be associated with intelligence, happiness, and self-reported health.^{[3] [5]}

Recent work in the organizational field indicates that generalized trust can change over time temporary as a response to daily work experiences and in a more meaningful way in response to major life changes and events such as taking on a new social role.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Bac . Mehmet . March 2009 . Generalized trust and wealth . International Review of Law and Economics . en . 29 . 1 . 46–56 . 10.1016/j.irle.2008.07.008.
2. Nannestad . Peter . June 2008 . What Have We Learned About Generalized Trust, If Anything? . Annual Review of Political Science . en . 11 . 1 . 413–436 . 10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.060606.135412 . 1094-2939. free .
3. Carl. Noah. Billari. Francesco C.. 2014-03-11. Dowd. Jennifer Beam. Jennifer Dowd. Generalized Trust and Intelligence in the United States. PLOS ONE. en. 9. 3. e91786. 10.1371/journal.pone.0091786. 1932-6203. 3950280. 24619035. 2014PLoSO...991786C. free .
4. Van Lange . Paul A. M. . February 2015 . Generalized Trust: Four Lessons From Genetics and Culture . Current Directions in Psychological Science . en . 24 . 1 . 71–76 . 10.1177/0963721414552473 . 220394838 . 0963-7214.
5. Intravia . Jonathan . Stewart . Eric. Warren . Patricia . Wolff . Kevin . 2016 . Neighborhood disorder and generalized trust: A multilevel mediation examination of social mechanisms . Journal of Criminal Justice . en . 46 . 1 . 148–158 . 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2016.05.003 .
6. 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02490. free . A Trait-State Model of Trust Propensity: Evidence from Two Career Transitions . 2019 . Van Der Werff . Lisa . Freeney . Yseult . Lance . Charles E. . Buckley . Finian . Frontiers in Psychology . 10 . 2490 . 31749749 . 6848461 .