Thick-relationship trust is a special case of encapsulated interest
Evidence
The thickrelationship theory is therefore merely a special case of the encapsulated-interest theory of trust. It is a partial theory that does not generalize to many contexts. In any theory of trust, the restriction to small-scale thick relationships must follow from other principles. Going back to those principles is a first step in generalizing the theory. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 143
Categorization
Category: Definitional Content
- XREF: Core to the reader’s integration project: Hardin’s encapsulated-interest framework is the mechanism by which the doctor’s wife in Blindness guarantees order — her incentives are encapsulated in others’ welfare.
Related
- Trustworthiness is grounded in the trusted’s interest in maintaining a relationship (similarity 0.87)
- Trusting someone means their interests encapsulate one’s own interests. (similarity 0.86)
- Trust is encapsulated interest achievable through many incentive mechanisms (similarity 0.85)
- Trust rests on the trusted person’s commitments and incentives, not just expected behavior. (similarity 0.85)
- Trust requires knowing the other’s incentives to honor it (similarity 0.85)
- Trust is encapsulated interest in the relationship’s continuation. (similarity 0.84)
- Thick relationships are one source of trust knowledge, not its definition (similarity 0.84)
- Trust involves beliefs about the other’s incentives toward me, not mere expectations (similarity 0.84)
- Trust rests on the trusted’s incentive to preserve the ongoing relationship. (similarity 0.84)
- Reputational incentives, not only reciprocity, make thick relationships foster trust (similarity 0.83)
- Trust reduces to anticipating the trusted’s incentives toward us (similarity 0.83)
- Trust relations scale in complexity from iterated games to thick ties (similarity 0.83)
- Trust is rational expectation about the trusted party’s self-interest (similarity 0.83)
- Trustworthiness is relational, not a general trait of the trusted. (similarity 0.82)
- Most theories of trust rest on four assumptions irreconcilable with encapsulated interest (similarity 0.82)
Broader Connections
- Trust is encapsulated interest achievable through many incentive mechanisms
#expands(0.85) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 151 - Thick relationships are one source of trust knowledge, not its definition
#qualifies(0.85) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 142 - Trust is anchored in a grasp of the other’s interests, not just behavior prediction
#expands(0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 66 - Love-based trust is functionally identical to self-interested trust
#contradicts(0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 152 - Mere incentive compatibility is insufficient for trust as encapsulated interest
#qualifies(0.78) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 71 - Mature relationships make trust overdetermined by multiple independent motives
#expands(0.78) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 881 - Trust requires genuine vulnerability and the partner’s real interest in betraying it
#expands(0.75) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 195