The component and structure of interpersonal trust

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 structure
• Trust trait
• Trust expectation
• Trust risk
• Trust behavior