Social class and interpersonal trust: Partner’s warmth, external threats and interpretations of trust betrayal

The present research investigated the effects of social class on interpersonal trust. In a series of experiments, we showed how the contextualist socio-cognitive tendencies of the lower class and the solipsistic tendencies of the upper class were reflected in their trusting attitudes and behaviors. In Study 1 (N = 491), upper class individuals expressed the same levels of trust towards all partners, while lower class individuals adjusted their trust choices to the affect-rich information about their interaction partner and trusted warm partners more than cold partners. The results of Study 2 (N = 210) showed that when threatened, lower class individuals had generally less trusting attitudes, while upper class members were equally trusting as in a neutral situation. Study 3 (N = 200) revealed that upper class individuals explained a betrayal of their trust with dispositional factors to a higher degree than lower class individuals. We discuss how these differences contribute to perpetuating the disadvantage of the lower class.

本研究探讨了社会阶层对人际信任的影响。在一系列实验中，我们揭示了底层阶级的语境主义社会认知倾向与上层阶级的唯我论倾向如何体现在其信任态度与行为中。实验1（N=491）结果显示，上层阶级个体对所有互动对象的信任程度保持一致，而底层阶级个体则会根据互动对象的情感丰富性信息调整信任选择，相较于冷漠对象，他们更信任热情友善的对象。实验2（N=210）结果表明，当面临威胁情境时，底层阶级个体整体的信任态度更为消极，而上层阶级个体的信任水平则与中性情境下无显著差异。实验3（N=200）发现，相较于底层阶级个体，上层阶级个体更倾向于用个体特质因素来解释信任被背叛的情况。本研究最后讨论了这些差异如何延续底层阶级的不利处境。