A Cross-National Study of Criteria for Judging the Trustworthiness of Others before a First Meeting

Abstract

Modernization, with its attendant migration to predominantly urban communities, has brought about profound change in a nearly endless number of social circumstances. One such circumstance is the increasingly frequent need to deal with strangers. This lies at the root of a fundamental change in the structure of interpersonal interactions and relationships. And here, in the overarching context of trust, we need to study the impacts and nature of these profound changes, toward a more thorough understanding of trust, distrust, and trustworthiness. That is, if one anticipates an imminent meeting with a stranger, what does one use to assess the trustworthiness of this stranger? Giddens (1990: 80), for instance, points out that “in many urban settings, we interact more or less continuously with others whom we either do not know well or have never met before...”. Marková, Linell, and Gillespie (2008: 17) have stated “Modernization has brought out not only liberty but since it has led to fragmentation of roles and of individuals, it has created the necessity of dealing with strangers”. Cook, Hardin and Levi (2005: 194) have noted: “As globalization has taken hold and interconnectedness across continents has increased dramatically, citizens everywhere have become more wary of the stranger in their midst”. Gillespie (2008: 287)1 goes on to explain that there is increasing interaction with strangers, meaning that “we must perceive people in terms of categories, social positions, and group memberships”. Clearly this has major implications for trust and distrust.