Trust Radius · The radius of Generalized Trust among different educational groups: Are those 'most people' out-groups?

The radius of Generalized Trust among different educational groups: Are those 'most people' out-groups?

Generalized trust (GT) or trust in ‘most people’ is a conspicuous indicator in at least 77 studies on ethnic diversity and intergroup relations. While social scientists have extensively debated the diversity-trust nexus, few have focused on systematic response bias in answers to this widely used questionnaire item. Most extant research relies on a problematic assumption; that GT taps into attitudes towards strangers and even ethnic out-groups. Using think aloud protocols, a study that aimed at unpacking GT has convincingly shed doubt on this assumption and demonstrated that the majority of respondents high in GT think ‘most people’ refers to people they know, whereas a high proportion of those who are low in GT think about strangers. Clearly, this questions the ecological validity of prior research, and the ensuing policy recommendations. Following the homophily principle – the tendency to associate and bond with similar others – we can expect that people known to the respondents are likely to be ethnic in-groups, and strangers are more likely to be ethnic out-groups, but formally we do not know this. It is imperative to corroborate the relation between GT, intergroup attitudes, and behavior, as well as triangulating the measurements with instruments that are less susceptible to social desirability. This project thus aimed to return to some of the overlooked methodological concerns in this literature: the measurement and operationalization of generalized trust, which is allegedly in decline by ethnic diversity. Furthermore, this project aimed to relate attitudes to behaviour in a controlled setting, which lacked in prior research. Important to note, behaviour related to GT is often measured only by self-reports. This project envisaged thus three interrelated objectives: 1. To reanalyse a unique data set, which employed cognitive interviews (think alouds) and mapped what respondents think when they are asked about the trustworthiness of ‘most people’ or generalized trust. 2. To investigate the factorial invariance and structural equivalence of generalized trust, trust towards people one has met for the first time (strangers) and out-group trust, comparing groups with different educational backgrounds across the globe. 3. To experimentally investigate relations between GT, out-group trust, implicit prejudice and social distance towards out-groups. Implicit and behavioural indicators will thus be compared with the previously employed explicit attitudes.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз