The component and structure of interpersonal trust

Chao Fu; Shuai Yang; Mengying Zhai; Tingjun Yong; Chun Zheng; Xueqin Ma; Guangyan Hou; Ping Su

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30071

The component and structure of interpersonal trust

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 23;10(9):e30071. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30071. eCollection 2024 May 15.

Authors

Chao Fu^{1

2}, Shuai Yang¹, Mengying Zhai³, Tingjun Yong^{1

4}, Chun Zheng^{2

5}, Xueqin Ma^{2

6}, Guangyan Hou¹, Ping Su¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, School of Education, Qinghai Normal University, Xining, Qinghai, 810016, PR China.
² Qinghai Cardio-Cerebrovascular Specialty Hospital, Qinghai High Altitude Medical Research Institute, Xining, 810012, PR China.
³ Chengdu No.11 Kindergarten, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610042, PR China.
⁴ School of Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xian, Shaanxi, 710062, PR China.
⁵ Department of Psychology, School of Education, Qinghai Minzu University, Xining, Qinghai, 810016, PR China.
⁶ Department of Gastroenterology, Qinghai Cardio-Cerebrovascular Specialty Hospital, Xining, Qinghai, 810016, PR China.

Abstract

Prior research has identified trust trait, trust expectation, trust risk and trust behavior as integral components of interpersonal trust. However, there still lack an in-depth exploration of the structural relationships among these integral components-how these integral components collectively constitute interpersonal trust. The current study innovatively proposed that interpersonal trust is anchored by individual trust trait, mediated by the dynamic equilibrium between trust risk and trust expectation, and culminates in trust behavior as the outcome. Interpersonal trust results from the synergistic interplay of individual and environmental factors. We called such structural relationships as the pyramid structure model of interpersonal trust, and proved its rationality by empirical evidence.

Keywords: Interpersonal trust; Trust behavior; Trust expectation; Trust risk; Trust structure; Trust trait.