Interpersonal Trust: A Comparison of Attitudinal and Situational Factors

Abstract

Three existing models of interpersonal trust are tested: (1) attitudinal, (2) situational, and (3) combined. Forty-four subjects were divided into five test groups and a control group. Interpersonal trust scores collected before and after a trust-building t group were analyzed by two-way ANO VA and F ratio. There was a significant increase in trust, measured by t test, in all test groups (p < .05), but no significant change in the control group. The ANO VA findings confirmed the existence of both attitudinal and situationalfactors present in interpersonal trust scores (p < .001) in all test groups. The F ratio demonstrated the situationalfactor as more important in explaining variations in interpersonal trust scores both before and after training (p < .01). Implications of these findings are discussed for traditional attitude theory and more recent contingency (situational) theory.