Trust is normally three-part, open-ended only in very close relationships.

Evidence

Although it is common to say, simply, “I trust her,” this is commonly an elliptical claim in which the condition “to do X” is merely implicit. To say that our trust is genuinely only a two-part interaction in this way is to say that it is utterly open ended with respect to all possible matters. This is extremely unlikely for any but the very closest relationships. We trust only certain others with respect to some things, and maybe an even more inclusive set of people with respect to somewhat less demanding things, and so forth. Unfortunately, however, the vernacular usage sometimes pervades analytical, explanatory, and theoretical discussions of trust. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 310

Categorization

• DEFINE: The two-part vs. three-part trust distinction — foundational for Hardin’s encapsulated-interest model.
• XREF: Links to the Saramago reading purpose: in the blindness scenario, trust is stripped of its three-part structure because the ‘to do X’ condition cannot be specified or monitored.