指向具体人物对象的人际信任:跨文化比较及其认知模型

本文对指向具体人物对象的人际信任作了跨文化实证比较研究,并探讨了人际信任的认知模型。使用人际信任行为量表(ITBS)测量了中国、香港及美国三地大学生的人际信任。根据三组被试对诸如父亲、哥哥、同班同学、医生和陌生人等20个人们生活中经常能够接触的人物信任程度的高低,可将这些具体人物对象归为“亲人”,“熟人”和“陌生人”三个群体。三组被试对“亲人”群体的人际信任没有显著差异,但中国被试对其它两个人物对象群体的信任要高于美国和香港被试,而后两组被试的差别则不显著。另外,利用多元回归法在人际信任与六种认知变量间建立了模型关系,发现其中只有两个变量对模型作出主要贡献,即:(1)对由信任行为而得到得回报的期望值越高;(2)得不到回报而引致损害的严重性评估越低,则一个人作出某一信任行为的可能性就越大。被试的文化背景和社会工业化程度对人际信任认知模型没有影响。

TARGET-BASED INTERPERSONAL TRUST: CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON AND ITS COGNITIVE MODEL

This research is aimed at exploring cross-culturally target-specific interpersonal trust and its cognitive processes. Trust was defined in the studyas one's behavioral intention to commit his or her own resources to a targetperson without any immediate reciprocation in order to get what he or sheneeds. It was measured by the Interpersonal Trusting Behavior Scale (ITBS)among subjects from mainland China, Hong Kong, and the United States.20specified target persons, such as Father, Mother, Boy/Girl Friend, Class-mate,Colleague,and Stranger were included as targets of various trusting be-haviors in the study, and these 20 persons were classified in terms of theirITBS scores into three categories: Intimates, Acquaintances and Strangers,by the method of cluster analysis. The three groups of subjects did not differ in their trust toward the in-timate targets, but the mainland Chinese gave more trust toward their acq-uaintances and strangers than did either Hong Kong or American subjects(ps<.05), while the atter two showed no difference between each other.It seems that the variable of industrialization rather than culture has a moresignificant influence on one's level of interpersonal trust. A cognitive model of trust was developed by using multiple regressionbetween the likelihood of trusting behavior and six relevant predictor varia-bles: one's expectancy for positive rewards and negative outcomes,one's eva-luation of the positive and negative outcomes,trustworthiness of a target pers-on, and one's control over the target person. Of these variables two werefound to have most predictive contributions to trust behaviors, regardless ofculture: 1) one's expectancy for outcomes and 2) one's estimation of nega-tive outcomes in enacting trusting behavior toward a specific target person.