Meeting Some, Trusting All - How Group Interaction Improves Social Trust

Braesemann, F., & Stephany, F. (2020). Between Bonds and Bridges: Evidence from a Survey on Trust in Groups. Social Indicators Research, 1-18.

18 Pages Posted: 25 Feb 2021

See all articles by Fabian Braesemann

Fabian Braesemann

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Fabian Stephany

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute; Bruegel; Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

Date Written: December 18, 2020

Abstract

In every social transaction there is an element of trust. The degree to which we trust others, called generalized trust, is assumed to benefit from interaction with different social groups. In the trust literature, it is opposed by particularized trust, which represents our mutual confidence in individuals close to us, for example, family members and friends. This study, based on a survey with 634 university students from Austria, questions the strict dichotomy between the two trust types. Our results advocate for a third, group determined type of trust. This additional trust dimension is measured by the number of groups individuals participate in. It changes fluently between particularized and generalized trust, depending on measures of group context, like frequency of interaction or group size. Our findings show that generalized trust increases with the number of groups one feels belonging to. People with less diverse social interaction, however, have more trust in their peers than in strangers.

Keywords: Community, Social Capital, Trust, 2SLS

JEL Classification: A13, D71, D1, Z1, Z13

Suggested Citation

Braesemann, Fabian and Stephany, Fabian, Meeting Some, Trusting All - How Group Interaction Improves Social Trust (December 18, 2020). Braesemann, F., & Stephany, F. (2020). Between Bonds and Bridges: Evidence from a Survey on Trust in Groups. Social Indicators Research, 1-18., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3751505 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3751505

Fabian Braesemann

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

Fabian Stephany (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford OX1 3PG Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

Bruegel ( email )

Rue de la Charité 33
B-1210 Brussels Belgium, 1210
Belgium

Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society ( email )

Bebelplatz 1 | 10099
Berlin
Germany

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