Trust of Strangers: a framework for analysis

TL;DR

This paper develops a structural equation model to analyze trust in strangers, revealing key factors influencing trust levels and highlighting the complex nature of social trust in public interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a validated 5-factor structural equation model to measure trust in strangers, emphasizing the roles of social and institutional trust and their effects.

Findings

Social and institutional trust significantly influence trust in strangers.

Nearly 48% of respondents distrust strangers on the street.

Demographics have a small positive effect on trust.

Abstract

Trust among people is essential to ensure collaboration, social network building, transactions, and the development and engagement of new audiences for brand promotion or social causes. In Berry (2024), the trust attitudes of respondents toward strangers on the street, other groups of people, and information sources were measured. This study evaluates the trust of strangers using a 5-factor structural equation model. The analysis yielded a robust model with four of five factors and all variables being statistically significant, with social trust and institutional trust yielding the greatest positive effect on trust of strangers on the street. While demographic characteristics had a small positive effect, the trust of friends and family had a mild negative effect on the trust of strangers on the street. Trust of information sources was not statistically significant and had a negligible positive effect on the trust of strangers. The results also indicate that almost 48% of respondents distrust strangers on the street, implying that trust is not automatically endowed. Directions for future research and implications for business and social causes are discussed.