Generalized trust, also known as spontaneous sociability, is the
trust that people have in their fellow members of society in general. It is often measured in
survey-based
social science
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...
research by asking the question, "Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?" This question has been included in the
General Social Survey
The General Social Survey (GSS) is a sociological survey created and regularly collected since 1972 by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. It is funded by the National Science Foundation. The GSS collects informa ...
s in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, the
World Values Survey
The World Values Survey (WVS) is a global research project that explores people's values and beliefs, how they change over time, and what social and political impact they have. Since 1981 a worldwide network of social scientists have conducted r ...
, and the
European Social Surveys.
Unlike many other human behavioral traits, generalized trust has been found to exhibit a moderate to low
heritability in
behavior genetic studies, implying that
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these grou ...
is more important in the development of such trust than is
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...
. The significant cross-national variation in levels of generalized trust also supports a significant role for cultural factors. It has been found to be associated with
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as the ...
,
happiness
Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia.
...
, and
self-reported health.
[ ]
Recent work in the organizational field indicates that generalized trust can change over time temporary as a response to daily work experiences and in a more meaningful way in response to major life changes and events such as taking on a new social role.
References
{{Sociology-stub
Sociological terminology