podfish
05-16-2014, 05:11 PM
here's an entertaining and plausible article (from Science Digest): (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140515095146.htm)
Trusting a stranger may have more to do with feeling morally obligated to show respect for someone else's character than actually believing the person is trustworthy, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
"Trust is crucial not just for established relationships, it's also especially vital between strangers within social groups who have no responsibility toward each other outside of a single, transitory interaction. eBay or farmers' markets couldn't exist without trust among strangers," said lead author David Dunning, PhD, of Cornell University. "We wanted to examine why people, even those with low expectations of others, tend to trust total strangers more often than not.
Theories that people are inclined to trust others because they feel it's the social norm or they expect to gain something don't fully explain the abundance of trust among strangers, according to the study, published in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. "Our findings reveal that people trust others because they feel it's their duty or moral responsibility," Dunning said.
I think this outlines an interesting spectrum, where most of the posters to this site would be widely spread out. A couple of things stand out to me: I suspect people who fall on the don't-trust-the-bastards side would be surprised to see that those willing to give trust don't do it because it's the "social norm" or are just wrong about the trustworthiness of others. Not sheeple, apparently, or Pollyannas. Revealing my bias, I think that they're just more aware of the benefits to society at large and willing to take risks to prevent the world from reverting to a dog-eat-dog mentality.
Trusting a stranger may have more to do with feeling morally obligated to show respect for someone else's character than actually believing the person is trustworthy, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.
"Trust is crucial not just for established relationships, it's also especially vital between strangers within social groups who have no responsibility toward each other outside of a single, transitory interaction. eBay or farmers' markets couldn't exist without trust among strangers," said lead author David Dunning, PhD, of Cornell University. "We wanted to examine why people, even those with low expectations of others, tend to trust total strangers more often than not.
Theories that people are inclined to trust others because they feel it's the social norm or they expect to gain something don't fully explain the abundance of trust among strangers, according to the study, published in APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. "Our findings reveal that people trust others because they feel it's their duty or moral responsibility," Dunning said.
I think this outlines an interesting spectrum, where most of the posters to this site would be widely spread out. A couple of things stand out to me: I suspect people who fall on the don't-trust-the-bastards side would be surprised to see that those willing to give trust don't do it because it's the "social norm" or are just wrong about the trustworthiness of others. Not sheeple, apparently, or Pollyannas. Revealing my bias, I think that they're just more aware of the benefits to society at large and willing to take risks to prevent the world from reverting to a dog-eat-dog mentality.