1st Edition

The Psychology of Trust

Edited By Joseph P. Forgas Copyright 2026
318 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

318 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

318 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

The sophisticated human capacity for trust is our crowning evolutionary achievement that makes social life and long-lasting relationships and institutions possible. This cutting-edge volume provides a comprehensive overview of the psychology of trust, featuring leading international researchers who have done ground-breaking work on the origins, nature, characteristics and consequences of trust.... Read more

PART 1. ORIGINS, FUNCTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES OF TRUST

 

Chapter 1. The psychology of trust: Origins, functions and consequences

Joseph P. Forgas

Chapter 2. Trust, its origins and the tethered mind

Vinod Goel

Chapter 3. Trust versus rationality

David Dunning, Thomas Schlösser and Detlef Fetchenhauer

Chapter 4. Do conceptualizations and measures of trust reflect a WEIRD bias?

Ying Lin and Michele Gelfand

                               

PART 2. COGNITIVE MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE INFLUENCES ON TRUST

 

Chapter 5. Heuristic trust

Joachim I. Krueger, Anthony M. Evans and Benjamin Aizenberg

Chapter 6. What can game-theoretical experimentation tell us about trust?

Klaus Fiedler

Chapter 7. Trust and contested beliefs: The role of actively open-minded thinking

Keith E. Stanovich and Maggie E. Toplak

Chapter 8. Affective influences on trust-related judgements and decisions

Joseph P. Forgas

 

PART 3. TRUST IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

 

Chapter 9. The development of romantic trust

Lorne Campbell and Omar J. Camanto

Chapter 10. Conceptualizing trust in the context of close relationships

John K. Rempel 

Chapter 11. An attachment perspective on trust and compliance: Secure and insecure forms of compliance toward romantic partners and governmental institutions

Mario Mikulincer, Shir Zur and Philip R. Shaver

Chapter 12. Trust as a personal resource: A Mathew effect of believing in the well-meaning of others

Detlef Fetchenhauer, David Dunning, Paschalia Georgantzi, Thomas Graczyk and Thomas Schlösser 

 

PART 4. TRUST IN SOCIETY AND CULTURE

 

Chapter 13. Social identity, depersonalized trust and social cohesion

Marilynn B. Brewer

Chapter 14. The demise of trust: Trustworthiness, the Internet and self-deception

William D. Crano and Tehreem Riffat

Chapter 15. The disruption of trust: The digital erosion of civic norms

Danit Finkelstein, Lee Jussim, Sonia Yanovsky, Zack Dulberg, Gidon Fihrer, Ohad Fedida and Joel Finkelstein

Chapter 16. On the interplay of (dis)trust, conspiracy beliefs and populism: Fueling political divides

Isabel Thielmann

Biography

Joseph P. Forgas is the Scientia Professor of Social Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. His research has focussed on the influence of cognitive and emotional factors on social behaviour and judgements. He has published more than 30 books and over 300 articles and book chapters, and he is a frequent contributor to media and online publications on the role of social psychology in understanding contemporary social and political issues. He was awarded the Order of Australia in recognition of his scientific and social contributions, and also received the APS Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize (Germany) and a Rockefeller Fellowship.