Investigating the patterns and measurement of general trust across disciplines, methods, and levels of analysis

This study investigates how general trust is measured and expressed across psychological and survey research, using diverse methods and levels of analysis. In Study 1, self- and informant-reports on the A1: Trust facet of the NEO PI-R/3 and the Single-Item General Trust (SIGT) scale were collected from a sample of 3232 adults. Study 2 compiled country-level aggregate scores for the same measures from various sources, covering 50 countries for self-reports and 49 for informant-reports. The two measures—SIGT and the A1: Trust facet—were significantly and positively correlated across both self- and informant-reports, and at both individual and country levels. They also exhibited broadly similar patterns across gender, age, and education. Taken together, the findings help bridge gaps in the literature by providing cross-disciplinary evidence for general trust as a construct and by identifying key similarities and differences in its measurement and demographic correlates across psychological and survey-based approaches.