In Whom we Trust: Group Membership as an Affective Context for Trust Development

Examining the ways in which affect impacts the trust that develops between members of dissimilar groups broadens the study of trust development. People's perceptions of their own interdependence with other groups influence both their beliefs about group members' trustworthiness and their affect for group members. I propose that this affect, in turn, influences interpersonal trust development through multiple paths: cognitive, motivational, and behavioral. Using literature on social information processing, emotion, and intergroup behavior, I elucidate the social and affective context of trust development.