What passes for generalized trust is conditional optimism that collapses with context

Evidence

Generalized trust is, at best, like trust in government in the following sense: We are merely confident that most of those with whom we might interact will be at least moderately trustworthy. It is not truly generalized but has scope constraints. Those who rely on generalized trust for explanations of various things must grant that their claims depend on context. Hence they are saying, for example, that middleclass Americans are likely to be trustworthy with respect to certain kinds of things, so that other middle-class Americans can relatively safely rely on them. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 807 (#expands, via linked claim)

Optimistic assessments can be beneficial only if the general social conditions the optimistic assessor faces are relatively favorable, so that statistically acting on this optimism will be rewarded by trustworthiness. The huge genre of post-apocalypse films and novels of our time portray conditions in which trust is generally not justified. Life is impoverished beyond measure, with the demands of survival and struggle preempting almost all else. To have optimistic assessments in these conditions might be to risk suicide. Even under ordinary circumstances, a central issue for optimistic assessment is how well past experience corresponds to future opportunities. — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 545 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In the substantial literature on the subject, generalized trust is loosely seen as unspecific trust in generalized others, including strangers (Rotter 1980). From various experimental studies and surveys, it is supposed by many social scientists that Americans have higher levels of generalized trust than do people in many other societies (see, for example, Fukuyama 1995; Yamagishi and Yamagishi 1994). — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 792 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Generalized trust is closer to expectation than to relationship-specific trust; Survey claims of generalized trust conceal strict contextual limits; Optimism about trust is rewarded only in relatively trustworthy social conditions — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 545 (+2 more)

Related

• Generalized trust is closer to expectation than to relationship-specific trust (similarity 0.93)
• Survey claims of generalized trust conceal strict contextual limits (similarity 0.91)
• Generalized trust actually operates with scoped contextual constraints (similarity 0.90)
• Generalized trust is defined as unspecific trust in strangers (similarity 0.86)
• Trust is always context-specific, never genuinely generalized (similarity 0.85)
• Optimism about trust is rewarded only in relatively trustworthy social conditions (similarity 0.81)
• Generalized trust is noncognitive and nonrelational by definition (similarity 0.81)
• Generalized trust means trust toward strangers beyond one’s known circle. (similarity 0.80)
• Meaningful trust requires expectations particular to the specific person, not generalized optimism. (similarity 0.80)
• Generalized social trust lacks grounding in specific relationships. (similarity 0.80)
• Survey items on generalized trust necessarily restrict the range of trustable matters (similarity 0.79)
• Trust operates through generalization that detaches from specific experience (similarity 0.79)
• Generalized distrust is more rational than generalized trust. (similarity 0.78)
• Generalized distrust is coherent rational belief where generalized trust is not. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Generalized trust actually operates with scoped contextual constraints #expands (0.93) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 807
• Optimism about trust is rewarded only in relatively trustworthy social conditions #corroborates (0.92) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 545
• Generalized trust is defined as unspecific trust in strangers #contradicts (0.80) — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 792