Do Economic Crises Always Undermine Trust in Others? The Case of Generalized, Interpersonal, and In-Group Trust

Abstract

After the global economic collapse triggered by the Great Recession, there has been an increased interest in the potential psychological implications of periods of economic decline. Recent evidence suggests that negative personal experiences linked to the economic crisis may lead to diminished generalized trust (i.e., the belief that most of the people of the society are honest and can be trusted). Adding to the growing literature on the psychological consequences of the economic crisis, we propose that the perceived personal impact of the economic crisis not only would undermine generalized trust but also may lead to increased interpersonal trust (i.e., directed to specific and close people) and depersonalized in-group trust [i.e., directed to individuals who, while strangers, belong to the same group (e.g., social class)]. Across three studies (N = 1379), we tested these central hypotheses and ascertained whether the perceived personal impact of the crisis would predict these types of trust (assessed using questionnaire and behavioral measures) independent of individuals’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 1 revealed that a higher perceived personal impact of the crisis is related to lower levels of generalized trust and higher levels of interpersonal trust. These effects were independent of participants’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 2 replicated the findings obtained in Study 1 and also showed a positive association between the perceived personal impact of the crisis and depersonalized in-group trust. This pattern of results emerged even after controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, age, political orientation, religiosity, and unemployment status. In Study 3, using an experimental design, we found that the salience of a possible economic downturn led to decreased generalized trust and increased interpersonal and depersonalized in-group trust – independently of socioeconomic status – compared with the control condition. These results challenge the conventional wisdom that economic crises invariably undermine trust in others. The implications of the present research as well as future research directions are discussed.

Connecting perceived economic threat and prosocial tendencies: The explanatory role of empathic concern

“…Even though the socioeconomic and political impact of the global economic downturn has been extensively examined, the psychosocial effects of the perceived economic threat linked to this period of widespread economic enfeeblement remains undoubtedly elusive. To address this gap, and to extend prior empirical evidence [16,18] by focusing on prosociality, we tested, across two independently collected community samples, whether (a) a higher perceived economic threat linked to the negative Spanish economic situation is connected to a greater inclination to engage in other-beneficial prosocial behavior, and (b) this relationship could be explained by empathic concern and identification.…”

“…Perceived economic threat related to the economic crisis. We evaluated whether or not participants had fallen in the social scale as a result of the Spanish economic crisis by administering a measure recently used by prior psychological research [17,18] and socioeconomic surveys [64]: "Faced with the current economic situation and thinking about your and your family's situation, do you believe that economic crisis has made you descend in the social scale? ": (1) Yes, I used to be in the upper class, and now I am in the upper middle class; (2) Yes, I used to be in the upper middle class, and now I am in the middle class; (3) Yes, I used to be in the middle class, and now I am in the lower middle class; (4) Yes, I used to be in the lower middle class, and now I am in the lower class; (5) Yes, I used to be in the lower class, and now I am in a very delicate situation, dreading a fall into poverty; (6) No, the crisis has not made me descend in the social scale; (7) No, the crisis has made me ascend in the social scale; and (8) I prefer not to answer.…”

“…As in Study 1, we evaluated whether participants descended (or not) on the social scale due to the crisis [17]. Moreover, we also administered the Financial Threat Scale (FTS) [72]-adapted to the Spanish context of economic turmoil [18]-because it (1) overcomes the potential methodological limitations of the prior dichotomous measure and (2) directly assesses individuals' psychological threats regarding their financial situations [18]. This 5-item instrument (e.g., "How much do you feel at risk") has a 5-point Likert scale response format ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal; α = .89).…”

“…Overall, within this framework, most studies have given a special focus to the effects of the economic crisis on psychological well-being and healthrelated indicators. For example, documentation has linked this period of economic downturn to reduced life satisfaction [14], poorer mental health and greater work-related stress [15], and lower levels of self-efficacy [16], personal control [17], and general trust [18]. Notwithstanding these detrimental psychological outcomes, it has been suggested that those most affected by economic crises tend to establish networks of mutual solidarity and social support as a plausible strategy for coping with adverse personal and socioeconomic circumstances [19].…”

Social class and interpersonal trust: Partner's warmth, external threats and interpretations of trust betrayal

“…To estimate the required sample size, we drew from the Navarro‐Carrillo, Valor‐Segura, Lozano and Moya () article about the effect of economic crisis on trust. Specifically, we analyzed their Study 3 which investigated the effect of a threat of economic crisis on three types of trust, in relation to participants' objective socioeconomic status.…”