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July 14, 2005

12:44 pm | 0 recommendations | 4 comments

Trust Is Not Enough

| posted by Heath Row

It used to be that whether you trusted someone depended on how trusting you are in general and what you know about the other person. New research from two Wharton academics indicates that that's no longer the case. Incidental emotions -- how you feel in the moment because of something that just happened -- can also encourage or discourage trust.

The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, indicates that this has two applications in the business world. One, situations can be subtly manipulated by using "non-task communication." Think of the sales call that kicks off with small talk about the big game, the upcoming holiday, or something else uplifting. And two, if people are aware of their emotions, they impact decision making -- and trust -- less.

Networking Resource Center columnist Keith Ferrazzi has written about instant intimacy. Martin Seligman concentrates on learned optimism, which entails being aware of your emotions. But how far do we take this? Would being late to work because of a slow train affect whether I trust you?

Tags: Management, teamwork
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Recent Comments | 4 Total

July 14, 2005 at 1:13pm

John
This is no surprise. Emotions related to events (both good a bad) affect subsequent events because that's where you are at the time. Especially if they are strong.
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July 15, 2005 at 1:51pm

hirene
when you once trust someone and the break that trust, its hard to ever trust them again. even for a very trusting person
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July 15, 2005 at 3:09pm

john h
There is a subtler aspect to emotional transactions not mentioned here. By deep personal calmness one can not only monitor their own emotion state but also the "trust components" of the other person as well. Registering what feelings arise during the exchange and comparing this with what is verbally presented provides a more nuanced model for developing trust with another person, regardless of the setting.
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July 16, 2005 at 11:51am

Ed Brenegar
Trust is a function of relationships. If it is so fragile that being late to an appointment destroys it, then there was never much trust to begin with. Trust requires mutual commitment by both parties to sustain it. If one party is untrustworthy, and trust is broken, then the value of the relationship will determine whether trust can be restored. This is why it is so important to establish an emotional connection with customers. It is a relationship, not a transaction agreement. When trust cannot be restored, from my experience, it is usually due to the unwillingness of one or both of the parties to admit they were wrong and create the circumstances for change. This is why humility is such an important part of being a happy and high performing individual.
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