SELF-DISCLOSURE AND INTERPERSONAL SOLIDARITY: MEASUREMENT,VALIDATION, AND RELATIONSHIPS

This study investigated the relationship of self-disclosure and interpersonal solidarity. Major emphasis was devoted to the refinement of a multidimensional measure of reported self-disclosure and development of a preliminary measure of solidarity. Results replicated in two studies indicated that (1) the self-disclosure scales could be improved to acceptable levels of reliability, (2) the solidarity measure validly distinguished between closer and more distant relationships, (3) self-disclosure and solidarity were positively related, and (4) meaningfully higher levels of self-disclosure were associated with high solidarity relations than with low solidarity relations.     

亲亲为大，亲贤仍重：亲疏关系、人情取向对人际信任的影响

本文基于以往理论,提炼出人际交往中影响信任的两大因素：关系因素和个人特质因素,通过两个情景启动实验尝试探索亲疏关系、可信赖特质（能力、善意和诚信）对人际信任的影响机制及其作用的边界条件。结果发现：亲疏关系除了可以直接预测人际信任之外,还可以通过感知被信任者的可信赖特质产生间接影响。此外,个体的人情取向可以分别调节亲疏关系对感知被信任者的能力、诚信特质的效应和通过感知被信任者的能力、诚信特质影响人际信任的间接效应,并且作用的主要对象是关系网中的熟人。本研究对理解当代中国社会在多元文化交融下的人际信任具有重要意义。     

It takes two to tango: An interdependence analysis of the spiraling of perceived trustworthiness and cooperation in interpersonal and intergroup relationships

We present three spiral reinforcement models that describe how mutual perceptions of trustworthiness and/or mutual cooperation may develop in dyadic interpersonal and intergroup relationships: a perceived trustworthiness spiral model, a cooperation spiral model, and a perceived trustworthiness-cooperation spiral model that posits a relatively more complex spiraling between trustworthiness perceptions and cooperation. Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (Kashy & Kenny, 2000) analyses of data from two joint venture business simulations provided support for the spiral models in interpersonal and intergroup relationships. While all three models received some support, the perceived trustworthiness-cooperation spiral received the most consistent support, suggesting that trust perceptions play a crucial mediating role in the development of cooperation in both interpersonal and intergroup interactions. Overall, it does “take two to tango”: the development of mutual trust and cooperation involves an intricate dance that spirals over time and is fundamentally affected by partners’ initial moves.     

If you are able to control yourself, I will trust you: the role of perceived self-control in interpersonal trust

The present research tested the hypothesis that perception of others' self-control is an indicator of their trustworthiness. The authors investigated whether, in interactions between strangers as well as in established relationships, people detect another person's self-control, and whether this perception of self-control, in turn, affects trust. Results of 4 experiments supported these hypotheses. The first 2 experiments revealed that participants detected another person's trait of self-control. Experiments 3 and 4 revealed that participants also detected the temporary depletion of another person's self-control. Confirming the authors' predictions, perceived trait and state self-control, in turn, influenced people's judgment of the other person's trustworthiness. In line with previous research, these findings support the positive value of self-control for relationships and highlight the role of perceived self-control for the development of a fundamental relationship factor: trust.     

Is interpersonal and institutional e‐trustworthiness equally important in consumer e‐trust development? Implications for consumers' e‐trust building behaviours

Trust is a widely studied phenomenon across numerous disciplines. E‐trust researchers have conducted a vast number of studies, but despite extensive interest in the issue, there are only few studies that concentrate on how consumers build e‐trust. Furthermore, consumer e‐trust is seen to be a function of both interpersonal and institutional e‐trustworthiness, but only limited number of attempts have been conducted to study the relative importance of interpersonal and institutional e‐trustworthiness in consumer e‐trust development process. The present article seeks to improve this situation by studying how consumers' perceived interpersonal and institutional e‐trustworthiness influence their intention to build e‐trust. The results of the study suggest that consumers build e‐trust actively, and the development of e‐trust is not only based on trustees' behaviour. Moreover, the results indicate that interpersonal e‐trustworthiness is more important than institutional e‐trustworthiness in consumers' e‐trust building. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived trustworthiness of knowledge sources: the moderating impact of relationship length

Prior meta-analytic evidence has indicated no association between relationship length and perceived trustworthiness. Viewing trustors as information processors, the authors propose a model in which relationship length, although having no direct effect on perceived trustworthiness, moderates the association between perceived trustworthiness and the basis on which people decide to trust each other. Specifically, as trustors learn about others, they base their trust on different kinds of information (demographic similarity, trustworthy behavior, and shared perspective). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses of a field survey of supervisors and subordinates from 3 companies (N = 88) provide evidence consistent with this prediction: Perceived trustworthiness is associated with demographic similarity in newer relationships, with trustworthy behavior in relationships that are neither brand new nor old but in-between, and with shared perspective in older relationships.     

When social networking is not working: individuals with low self-esteem recognize but do not reap the benefits of self-disclosure on Facebook

The popular media have publicized the idea that social networking Web sites (e.g., Facebook) may enrich the interpersonal lives of people who struggle to make social connections. The opportunity that such sites provide for self-disclosure-a necessary component in the development of intimacy--could be especially beneficial for people with low self-esteem, who are normally hesitant to self-disclose and who have difficulty maintaining satisfying relationships. We suspected that posting on Facebook would reduce the perceived riskiness of self-disclosure, thus encouraging people with low self-esteem to express themselves more openly. In three studies, we examined whether such individuals see Facebook as a safe and appealing medium for self-disclosure, and whether their actual Facebook posts enabled them to reap social rewards. We found that although people with low self-esteem considered Facebook an appealing venue for self-disclosure, the low positivity and high negativity of their disclosures elicited undesirable responses from other people.     

A social identity approach to trust: interpersonal perception,group membership and trusting behaviour

Trusting behaviour involves relinquishing control over outcomes valuable to the self. Previous research suggests that interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness are closely related to this behaviour. The present research suggests that the more proximal determinant of trusting behaviour is the expectation that the other will reciprocate. Based on the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) model, reciprocity expectations may be created by interpersonal perceptions of trustworthiness or a shared group membership. To investigate this, group membership and individual identifiability were experimentally manipulated (N = 139): When individuals were not identifiable, trusting behaviour was based on expectations of reciprocity inferred from group membership, not on perceived trustworthiness. In contrast, personal identifiability fostered perceptions of trustworthiness for both in‐ and out‐group members. In this case interpersonal trustworthiness enhanced expectations of reciprocity, which in turn increased trusting behaviour. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

殊化信任与泛化信任在人际信任行为路径模型中的作用

该研究探讨不同社会情景下,泛化信任、殊化信任以及可信任性知觉等对信任行为起作用的理论模型。223名工人被试平均年龄24岁。用结构方程模型中的路径分析验证该模型,结果表明,各种拟合指标十分理想。三种交往情景下的人际信任路径模型之间的异同主要表现在：（1）殊化信任在所有情景下对信任行为都有直接而显著的作用;（2）泛化信任则只在与熟人和陌生人交往时才起作用;（3）与目标人物的关系越疏远,对他们作出信任行为时所需要的心理资源也越多。     

组织内信任研究的核心问题及其发展趋势

信任是当前组织领域研究的热点。文章通过对组织中信任研究核心问题的梳理,得出信任研究发展的以下趋势：重视情景因素、信任者主动性和情感因素对信任的影响,重视快速信任、信任发展中的动机化归因过程以及对信任机制的研究,关注社会网络分析与传统信任测量的结合。未来研究在把握上述发展趋势的同时,应在关系模式下理解信任的内涵、关注宏观层面情景因素对信任的影响、开展纵向研究验证信任发展模型以及建立信任机制的整合模型。     

Employee Attachment: Implications for Supervisor Trustworthiness and Trust

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of adult attachment on perceptions of trustworthiness and trust in one’s supervisor. Specifically, we cast trustworthiness perceptions as the cognitive mechanisms by which attachment influences trust, which then influenced work outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Data on attachment, trustworthiness, and trust were obtained from employees, and performance ratings were provided by the employees’ direct supervisor (n = 353, 157 supervisors).

Findings

Secure and counterdependent attachment had a significant impact on trustworthiness perceptions, and secure attachment was also significantly related to trust, even in the presence of trustworthiness perceptions. Overdependent attachment had no significant influence on trustworthiness or trust perceptions.

Implications

Adult attachment influences one’s regulatory processes in interpersonal relationships and will certainly influence trust in one’s supervisor. Understanding the process by which attachment influences trust in one’s supervisor via trustworthiness perceptions provides a more comprehensive picture of how trust develops. This study provides evidence that adult attachment influences trustworthiness and trust simultaneously, which may be helpful in the selection process but also in managing the interpersonal aspect of the employee–supervisor relationship.

Originality/value

Though trust has been linked to attachment in the literature, no research has examined adult attachment and its influence on trustworthiness perceptions. Our paper provides an examination of attachment and its role in a comprehensive model of interpersonal trust. In addition, we examine attachments influence on trustworthiness and trust beyond the influence of propensity to trust, a commonly studied dispositional variable in the trust literature.

     

Online/offline self-disclosure to offline friends and relational outcomes in a diary study: The moderating role of self-esteem and relational closeness

Previous work suggests that the experiences of online and offline self-disclosure are heterogeneous among individuals. Yet little work has been done to identify the moderating role of individual characteristics and pre-existing relationship characteristics on the diverse relational outcomes. The present study using a 7-day diary design examined whether individuals' self-esteem level and relational closeness would moderate the relationships between online and offline self-disclosure to offline friends and two relational outcomes, that is, relationship satisfaction and trust in friendships. The analyses on 686 diary responses from 98 participants revealed that offline self-disclosure generally predicted greater relationship satisfaction and trust in friendships, whereas the role of online self-disclosure was not statistically significant. More importantly, self-esteem moderated the pattern associated with offline self-disclosure but not that with online self-disclosure. Specifically, offline self-disclosure predicted greater benefits to people with lower self-esteem relative to people with higher self-esteem. Moreover, pre-existing relational closeness moderated the relationship between offline self-disclosure and trust in friendships such that casual friendships benefited more from offline self-disclosure than close friendships did. The present study highlights the importance of personal characteristics and relationship characteristics in understanding the heterogeneous relational influence of different communication modes.     

网络交往中的人际信任

网络人际信任是人际信任在网络交往中的延伸.网络人际信任表现出脆弱性、认知性的特点,其产生与发展是一个动态的持续过程.网络环境因素、网络使用行为、个体因素和社会文化因素影响网络人际信任水平;此外,网络人际信任对个体网络自我表露、知识共享、行为决策以及团队合作等网络行为起促进作用.在此基础上指出现有研究的不足,并提出未来应基于网络人际信任的特点开展深入研究,明晰网络人际信任的影响因素及其发展过程.     

Perceived trustworthiness of online shops

• Trust has been found to be crucial for consumer behaviour towards online shops. However, existing studies on the role of trust in electronic commerce are mainly based on ad hoc scales to measure trustworthiness, merely rely on self‐reported consequences of trust such as intention to buy, and focus on low‐risk products.
• In a web‐based study, 634 participants interacted with a provider of medical goods, that is a simulated online pharmacy. The study develops and employs a psychometrically sound scale for assessing perceived trustworthiness of online shops. Moreover, it examines the impact of trustworthiness on both consumers' intended and actual behaviour towards online shops.
• Results show that trustworthiness promotes both intention to buy and actual financial risk taking. Perceived risk was not found to moderate the relationship between trustworthiness and intention to buy. Instead, trustworthiness partially mediated the influence of perceived risk on intention to buy. The results from the scale development challenge multidimensional conceptualizations of trust; comparing this finding with other studies suggests that the duration of the relationship might moderate the dimensionality of trust.

Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What’s in a name? Subliminally activating trusting behavior

Because the choice to trust is inherently risky, people naturally assess others’ trustworthiness before they engage in trusting actions. The research reported here suggests that the trust development process may start before the conscious assessment of trustworthiness, via the activation of a relational schema. We present three experiments that examined the automatic, non-conscious activation of interpersonal trusting behavior via a variety of subliminal cues: positive or negative, relational or non-relational, and trust-related or not. In all three studies, subliminal relational cues influenced subsequent trusting behavior, apparently without conscious awareness. Results from the third study also indicated that subliminal relational cues that were specifically trust-related influenced trustors’ expectations of the likelihood of reciprocity. Overall, the data provide initial evidence that the development of interpersonal trust can start before and beneath conscious awareness.     

关系认知与善意认知对大学生人际信任的影响

采用投资博弈,以大学生为被试探讨关系认知（亲疏关系、阶层关系）和特质认知（以善意为例）对中国人人际信任的影响。结果发现,亲疏关系认知、阶层关系认知和善意认知都会影响中国人的人际信任。关系越近、阶层越高、越善意,信任水平越高。随着亲疏关系下降或善意降低,阶层关系对信任水平的作用之间的差异逐步减弱。亲疏关系认知和阶层关系认知存在交互作用,亲疏、阶层和善意也具有交互作用。人们对上位阶层的信任大于平位大于下位,但是当信任对象存在低善意特质或陌生人身份时,人们对上位阶层的信任会下降至和平位没有差异;当低善意特质和陌生人身份同时存在时,人们对上位、平位和下位的信任无差异。     

Friendships and Romantic Relationships of Black and White Adolescents

Prior research on adolescent peer relationships has focused on interpersonal dimensions of friendships but not of romantic relationships, and has rarely examined minority groups. We used a random sample of 122 adolescents to examine race and gender differences in friendships, romantic relationships, and the congruence between closest friendship and romantic relationship on five interpersonal domains: mutual support, self-disclosure, hurtful conflict, fear of betrayal, and interpersonal sensitivity. Significant race by gender differences in the difference between relationship type for both positive and negative dimensions of relationships were found. White girls reported significantly higher levels of self-disclosure in their friendship ties in comparison to romantic relationship, whereas white boys reported nearly equivalent levels. In comparison to white adolescents, Black adolescent girls and boys had similar levels of self-disclosure in their romantic relationships as their same-sex friendships. With regards to negative elements of relationships, girls reported more hurtful conflict in romance than friendship, whereas boys reported an opposite pattern. Results highlight the importance of consideration of race and gender influences on youth interpersonal skills within peer and romantic relationships.     

Trusting strangers: The benefits of reciprocal self-disclosure during online computer-mediated communication and mediating role of interpersonal liking

Reciprocal self-disclosure has reportedly been associated with increased interpersonal trust. However, existing research mainly focuses on online disclosure between acquaintances and overlooks the types of reciprocal disclosure, especially in the initial interactions between strangers communicating online. This study aimed to investigate how three types of reciprocal self-disclosure (turn-taking reciprocity, extended reciprocity and non-reciprocity) contribute to trust and the mechanism of positive interpersonal liking, and whether any effect was instant and stable or increased across two interactions during computer-mediated communication (CMC). Participants were assigned to one of the three reciprocal disclosure conditions and engaged in online interactions. Self-reported and behavioural results demonstrated higher levels of interpersonal trust and liking in the second interaction phase than in the first across all conditions. The turn-taking reciprocity condition showed higher interpersonal trust than did the extended condition, and higher interpersonal liking than did the extended and non-reciprocity conditions; this effect was apparent in both interactions. These findings help us understand the relationship between online self-disclosure and interpersonal trust, suggesting that certain patterns of communication with strangers (e.g., turn-taking reciprocity) may foster more positive social outcomes during CMC over time, while demonstrating the importance of immediacy in synchronous conversations.     

传言对人际信任影响的泛化效应

本研究使用学习-测试范式考察传言对人际信任影响的泛化效应。学习阶段,被试对中性面孔和不同效价的传言或真实信息进行配对学习;测试阶段,被试作为投资者与陌生对家完成信任投资游戏,对家面孔与学习面孔具有40%相似性。结果发现,传言能够影响学习面孔的信任,并调节与学习面孔相似的对家面孔的信任投资;同时,传言对信任投资的影响只发生在女性对家身上。上述发现揭示传言对人际信任能够进行选择性泛化。     

Friend or foe: the effect of implicit trustworthiness judgments in social decision-making

The human face appears to play a key role in signaling social intentions and usually people form reliable and strong impressions on the basis of someone's facial appearance. Therefore, facial signals could have a substantial influence on how people evaluate and behave towards another person in a social interaction, such as an interactive risky decision-making game. Indeed, there is a growing body of evidence that demonstrates that social behavior plays a crucial role in human decision-making. Although previous research has demonstrated that explicit social information about one's partner can influence decision-making behavior, such as knowledge about the partner's moral status, much less is known about how implicit facial social cues affect strategic decision-making. One particular social cue that may be especially important in assessing how to interact with a partner is facial trustworthiness, a rapid, implicit assessment of the likelihood that the partner will reciprocate a generous gesture. In this experiment, we tested the hypothesis that implicit processing of trustworthiness is related to the degree to which participants cooperate with previously unknown partners. Participants played a Trust Game with 79 hypothetical partners who were previously rated on subjective trustworthiness. In each game, participants made a decision about how much to trust their partner, as measured by how much money they invested with that partner, with no guarantee of return. As predicted, people invested more money in partners who were subjectively rated as more trustworthy, despite no objective relationship between these factors. Moreover, the relationship between the amount of money offered seemed to be stronger for trustworthy faces as compared to untrustworthy faces. Overall, these data indicate that the perceived trustworthiness is a strong and important social cue that influences decision-making.