A Comparative Study Of Interpersonal Trust Between College Students And Social Workers

Interpersonal trust is a positive expectations of others’ reliable degree and a willingness of atrust behavior. The process of interpersonal trust is social. Interpersonal trust is not only one kindof stable psychological traits, but also one kind of dynamic social behaviors.This study comparedthe interpersonal trust of128college students and128social workers by using questionnairesand doing an experiment, and it also explored the influencing factors of interpersonal trust.This study included three parts. Study1changed the experiment paradigm of Trust Gameand explored the participants’ interpersonal trust behavior when participants played differentroles under different levels of risk. It also compared the differences of interpersonal trustbehavior between the two groups. Study2used Trust Circle Questionnaire to investigate theparticipants’ interpersonal trust level (the size of trust circle) when participants communicateddifferent themes under different levels of risk. It also compared the differences of interpersonaltrust level between the two groups. Study3used the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire andInterpersonal Trust Scale to investigate the participants’ level of coping style and interpersonaltrust traits. It also explored the orrelation between coping style and factors of interpersonal trust.The three parts’ results were as follows:1. The undergraduates’ scores of interpersonal trust is higher than the social personnel’s;2. The deciding order showed a significant main effect on interpersonal trust behavior, thefirst decision makers’ trust behavior was higher than the second ones’. What’s more, the inter-action effect on interpersonal trust level was significant between the deciding order and the risklevel.3. The trust domain showed a significant main effect on interpersonal trust level. Theaverage trust circle size in the economic situation is larger than in the positive and negativeinformation sharing context. What’s more, the interaction effect on interpersonal trust level wassignificant between the trust domain and the group type.4. The risk level showed significant main effects on both interpersonal trust behavior andinterpersonal trust level. The interaction effect on interpersonal trust behavior was significantbetween the risk level and the group type, and the interaction effect on interpersonal trust levelwas significant between the risk level and the trust domain.5. Remark correlation was found between the positive coping style and interpersonal trust.