Perceiving that one is trusted increases one’s actual trustworthiness

Evidence

It is possible that trustworthiness is affected by the perception of being trusted. If we reward people beyond what they might seem to deserve, they might therefore attempt to live up to the reward by performing at a high level. Similarly, when we think people will perform well, they often do (see further Peel 1998; Braithwaite 1998; Blackburn 1998; Daunton 1998). — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 915

Categorization

• XREF: Directly parallels the self-fulfilling-prophecy mechanism in social capital and reputation literature (Milgrom on reputation systems, Coleman on social capital). Also relevant to the Pygmalion effect in management.
• QUESTION: Is this a genuine causal effect of trust, or merely selection—people who are trusted more often were already higher performers? Worth chasing the empirical citations (Peel 1998; Braithwaite 1998).