Intergroup Trust Scale

Trust forms the foundation of intergroup relationships. Its presence enables cooperation, while its absence deepens division. Building on a growing effort to measure trust more systematically at the group level, we introduce the Intergroup Trust Scale (IGT-Scale), a psychometric instrument designed to operationalize the Intergroup Trust Model (IGT-Model). The IGT-Scale conceptualizes trust as a multidimensional construct comprising five theoretically distinct yet interdependent dimensions: Competence, Integrity, Compassion, Compatibility, and Security. The scale assesses both the perceived trustworthiness of the out-group (Competence- and Integrity-based trust), the nature of the intergroup relationship (Compassion- and Compatibility-based trust), and a foundational sense of safety in the relationship (Security-based trust). Taken together, these dimensions make it possible to see not just whether trust between groups is high or low, but along which dimensions it is strained versus where it holds. The IGT-Scale can be used to measure trust at the group level, but also in institutions. It is made available here to support a more cumulative, comparable, and nuanced science of intergroup trust. unknown unknown