… that is the question. The social science research on trust, distrust or corruption is expanding rapidly. As in some other fields of research the increase in research itself becomes an issue of trust in science as the uncontrolled use of AI has produced an inflation of pseudo-scientific papers as well (Link). However, the finding by Spadaro et al. (2020) that interpersonal trust (trusting beliefs and behavior) is influenced by a general feeling of security as well as trust in institutions is supported by experimental and interview-based research.
There are still many challenges to the research in this field. The “feeling of security” has an overall component, but also several subcategories like the objective or subjective feeling of job security, which is dependent on national and collective systems of employment protection legislation. Economic security or security of a sufficient retirement income might be at times considered more important than (in-)security in cities or the countryside. Differences of the mechanisms by gender and age have to be studied in detail as well, which necessitates large data collections on the issues. Churches that used to be considered as trustworthy institutions or the police forces have been accused of abuses of the high trust placed in them in the last few years. These 2 examples demonstrate that trust itself is a dynamic issue with ups and downs over time, rarely constant over time. Game theoretical considerations add further to the view that trust might be used as a strategy just like economic power. (Image: Cathedrale de Meaux)
