Enhancing feelings of security: How institutional trust promotes interpersonal trust

Abstract

Interpersonal trust is an important source of social and economic development. Over decades, researchers debated the question whether and how public institutions influence interpersonal trust, making this relationship a much-discussed issue for scientific debate. However, experimental and behavioral data and insights on this relationship and the underlying psychological processes are rare and often inconsistent. The present set of studies tests a model which proposes that institutional trust indirectly affects trust among unrelated strangers by enhancing individuals' feelings of security. Study 1 (survey on trust in a broad spectrum of state institutions), Study 2 (nationally representative data from 16 countries), and Study 3 (experimental manipulation of institutional trust) provide convergent support for this hypothesis. Also, the results show that the effect remains consistent even after controlling for individual dispositions linked to interpersonal and institutional trust (Study 1 and 3) and country level indicators of institutional performance (Study 2). Taken together, these findings inform and contribute to the debate about the relationship between institutions and interpersonal trust by showing that when institutions are trusted, they increase feelings of security, and therefore promote interpersonal trust among strangers.

Can open data increase younger generations’ trust in democratic institutions? A study in the European Union

“…Then, it is increasingly difficult to build social trust on the background of previous social interactions. Hence, in this context, institutions play a critical role in setting social common rules that reduce the uncertainty of social interactions and improve trust among citizens [ 25 , 26 ]. As stated by Spadaro, institutional trust needs to be considered when explaining changes in interpersonal trust [ 25 ].…”

“…Hence, in this context, institutions play a critical role in setting social common rules that reduce the uncertainty of social interactions and improve trust among citizens [ 25 , 26 ]. As stated by Spadaro, institutional trust needs to be considered when explaining changes in interpersonal trust [ 25 ]. The link between institutional and personal trust is, therefore, relevant since the former can boost the latter and that improvement in social trust has a positive impact, leading to better economic conditions [ 27 ], making people happier and improving their subjective wellbeing [ 28 ].…”

Institutional Quality Causes Social Trust: Evidence from Survey and Experimental Data on Trusting Under the Shadow of Doubt

“…Some scholars claim that generalized trust precedes institutional quality: Trusting and law abiding societies attaching high moral costs to corruption are capable of putting high quality institutions in place (e.g., Bjørnskov, 2010). Others hold instead the opposite view that stronger institutions create the pre-conditions for generalized trust to develop (e.g., Spadaro et al, 2020;Rothstein, 2013).…”

Institutional quality causes social trust: Experimental evidence on trusting under the shadow of doubt

“…2 In this paper we take up this challenge and investigate whether impartial and trustworthy institutions can be regarded as determinants of social trust (Tarrow, 1996;Levi, 1998;Rothstein, 2000Rothstein, , 2011. Numerous scholars argue that legal systems, ensuring reliable contracts, securing rights, sanctioning non-compliance, protecting minorities, and supporting participation provide citizens with the necessary assurance that others will adhere to the prescribed codes of behavior (Levi, 1998;Rothstein and Stolle, 2008;Spadaro et al, 2020). Fair, impartial, and trustworthy institutions foster moreover a sense of group membership and commonality among citizens, aligning social and individual goals, which favors the development of social trust (De Cremer et al, 2005;Ostrom, 2005;Wenzel, 2007;Wichardt, 2008;Martinangeli and Martinsson, 2020).…”

“…cross-country differences in underlying historical, social, and political conditions, culture, economic development, among others) and to the slow-moving nature of both social trust and institutional quality. Moreover, while many scholars hold the view that stronger institutions are the pre-conditions for social trust to develop (e.g., Rothstein, 2000;Rothstein and Stolle, 2008;Rothstein and Eek, 2009;Dinesen and Hooghe, 2010;Dinesen, 2012a;Rothstein, 2013;Sønderskov and Dinesen, 2014;Spadaro et al, 2020), others claim that more trusting societies are better equipped to establish institutions of better quality (e.g., Lambsdorff, 2002;Uslaner, 2002;Bjørnskov, 2010;Graeff and Svendsen, 2013;Wroe et al, 2013). Despite there are a few studies that resort to experimental methods with the aim to break these endogeneities, the causal relationship remains elusive due to their cross-cultural nature.…”