Infant trust is an evolved instinct, not a cognitive model

Evidence

Evolution has bestowed upon us the mixed blessing of being able to generate intentionally the as if behaviour. Knowing this, we can hardly avoid the responsibility of considering trust a choice rather than a fortunate by-product of evolution. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Trust is in the cognitive category with knowledge and belief. To say I trust you in some way is to say nothing more than that I know or believe certain things about you—generally things about your incentives or other reasons to live up to my trust, to be trustworthy to me. My assessment of your trustworthiness in a particular context is simply my trust of you. The declarations “I believe you are trustworthy” and “I trust you” are equivalent. If it is cognitive, it follows that trust is not purposive (Baier 1986, 235). I do not trust you in order to gain from interacting with you. Rather, because I do trust you, I can expect to gain from interacting with you if a relevant opportunity arises. Moreover, if trust is cognitive, it is not behavioral. I may act from my trust, and my action may give evidence of my trust, but my action is not itself the trust, although it may be compelling evidence of my trust. If I trust you, I trust you right now and not only in some moment in which I act on my trust by taking a risk on you. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 98 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821; Trust is a cognitive state of belief, not an action or purpose — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 98; Trust is merely evidence-based expectation while trustworthiness is motivational (+2 more)

Related

• Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution (similarity 0.90)
• Trust is not reducible to emotion the way joy might be (similarity 0.87)
• Trust is a cognitive state of belief, not an action or purpose (similarity 0.87)
• Evolutionary accounts explain trustworthiness, not trust itself (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is a rational choice even for egoists, not a natural given (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is a three-part cognitive relation grounded in truth, not choice (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is a deliberate choice, not merely a fortunate evolutionary by-product (similarity 0.86)
• Trust requires belief in the other’s motivations, not mere behavioral expectation (similarity 0.84)
• Trust is defined by the reason for expectation, not the expectation itself (similarity 0.84)
• Trust is expectation formed before the other’s action can be monitored (similarity 0.83)
• Trust is a matter of knowledge and belief, not of choice or action. (similarity 0.83)
• Trust is not chosen, a gamble, or an investment; only actions are (similarity 0.82)
• Trust does not emerge naturally because humans tend toward extremes rather than fine-tuning (similarity 0.82)
• Trust can be rationally pursued through codified as-if behavior (similarity 0.82)
• Infant trust develops from relationship quality, not provision, and underlies adult trusting capacity. (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Humans can intentionally choose trust rather than inherit it as a by-product of evolution #contradicts (0.90) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2821
• Trust is a cognitive state of belief, not an action or purpose #contradicts (0.85) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 98
• Trust is merely evidence-based expectation while trustworthiness is motivational #contradicts (0.80)
• Trust is a result rather than a precondition of cooperation #contradicts (0.80) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2781