Does intelligence foster generalized trust? An empirical test using the UK birth cohort studies

Sturgis, Patrick; Read, Sanna; Allum, Nick

doi:10.1016/j.intell.2009.11.006

Cited by 65 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…More importantly, our proxy for social intelligence is less than ideal. We did succeed in replicating the positive relationship between general intelligence and social trust reported in Sturgis, Read, and Allum (2010). However, both that study and the analysis in this paper rely on the assumption that cognitive ability tests are an acceptable proxy for social intelligence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

The Genetic Origins of the Relationship between Psychological Traits and Social Trust

et al. 2012

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Recent studies have shown that trusting attitudes and behavior are biologically influenced. Focusing on the classic trust game, it has been demonstrated that oxytocin increases trust and that humans are endowed with genetic variation that influences their behavior in the game. Moreover, several studies have shown that a large share of the variation in survey responses to trust items is accounted for by an additive genetic component. Against this backdrop, this article makes two important contributions. First, utilizing a unique sample of more than 2,000 complete Swedish twin pairs, we provide further evidence of the heritability of social trust. Our estimates of the additive genetic component in social trust were consistent across the sexes -.33 for males and .39 for femalesand are similar to the results reported in earlier studies. Secondly, we show that social trust is phenotypically related to three psychological traits -extraversion, personal control, and intelligence -and that genetic factors account for most of these correlations. Jointly, these psychological factors share around 30% of the genetic influence on social trust both for males and females. Future studies should further explore the possible causal pathways between genes and trust using panel data on both psychological traits and social trust.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

The Genetic Origins of the Relationship between Psychological Traits and Social Trust

et al. 2012

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“…4 Moreover, while we find personality to be among the most likely deep-rooted traits to influence the two forms of trust, the same logic of potential confounding extends to other similar traits-e.g., intelligence, which has also been shown to correlate with social trust (Hooghe et al 2012;Oskarsson et al 2012;Sturgis et al 2010). In other words, based on previous analyses we cannot rule out confounding of the relationship between institutional and social trust by deep-seated psychological traits.…”

Section: Causal or Confounded? The Relationship Between Institutionalmentioning

confidence: 92%

Trusting the State, Trusting Each Other? The Effect of Institutional Trust on Social Trust

2015

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Trust in state institutions is a prominent explanation of social trust. However, previous-mainly cross-sectional-analyses provide limited causal evidence regarding the relationship between institutional trust and social trust and it is thus essentially unknown whether an observed relationship reflects reverse causality (social trust forming institutional trust), or both forms of trust reflecting deep-seated dispositions (common confounding). Against the backdrop of the shortcomings of previous cross-sectional analyses, this paper utilizes two Danish panel surveys containing measures of both types of trust for the same individuals surveyed at multiple points in time over a long time-span (up to 18 years) to address the potentially reverse and/or spurious relationship. Using individual fixed effects and cross-lagged panel models, the results provide strong evidence of trust in state institutions exercising a causal impact on social trust, whereas the evidence for a reverse relationship is limited.

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“…While personalised trust arises from direct and repeated positive social relations, this element of interpersonal trust corresponds to an "indiscriminate belief in the general benevolence of one's fellow citizen" (Sturgis et al, 2010) and the "expectation that other members of the community will behave in a cooperative and honest way" (Fukuyama, 1995). To trust others is to believe that strangers will not knowingly hurt us and will consider our well-being when acting (Barber, 1983;Hardin, 2006).…”

Section: Interpersonal Trustmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another is the experientialist approach, which conceptualises trust as the result of positive social interactions and experiences: trust is built and destroyed over time as individual experiences change, as communities host more or less trustworthy individuals that do or do not foster the well-being of the communities they serve, lack transparency or are not open to relationships (Hardin, 2002;Bok, 1978). Other research points to the role of biological factors in determining levels of trust in a given context (Kosfeld et al, 2005;Merolla, 2013) as well as the role of genetics in determining predisposition to trust more generally (Sturgis, 2010). We argue that interpersonal trust formation is the result of all of these elements and arises out of socialisation processes, the interactions individuals develop, and the incentives they face.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Trust and Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This view does not discount the importance of cultural, environmental, or indeed biological bases of trust, but rather insists that any full understanding must also include cognition as an essential component of developing and maintaining trust. Sturgis (2010) maintained that the development of interpersonal trust is de facto a problem solving activity which expresses people's capacity to evaluate the quality of interactions with others and adapt their behaviour according to environmental stimuli. We build on this insight and hypothesise that the development of trust is facilitated by the development of cognitive skills.…”

Section: The Relationship Between Trust and Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The educational roots of trust

Borgonovi

Burns

2015

OECD Education Working Papers

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JT03376896Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. EDU/WKP(2015)8 Unclassified English -Or. English EDU/WKP(2015)8 2 OECD EDUCATION WORKING PAPERS SERIESOECD Working Papers should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the authors.Working Papers describe preliminary results or research in progress by the authors and are published to stimulate discussion on a broad range of issues on which the OECD works. Comments on Working Papers are welcome, and may be sent to the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to rights@oecd.org.Comment on the series is welcome, and should be sent to edu.contact@oecd.org.This working paper has been authorised by Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD. Tables Table 1. Forms ABSTRACTTrust is important for social and economic well-being, for enhancing social cohesion and strengthening resilience, and for maintaining security and order in our societies. Trust is the foundation upon which social capital is built and it also is intimately related to human capital. This work examines the association between education and levels of interpersonal trust, using data from the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). Our analysis demonstrated that education strengthens the cognitive and analytical capacities needed to develop, maintain, and (perhaps) restore trust in both close relationships as well as in anonymous others. It does so both directly, through building and reinforcing literacy and numeracy in individuals, and indirectly, through facilitating habits and reinforcing behaviours such as reading and writing at home and at work. Education and trust are thus fundamentally intertwined and dependent on each other. While all countries acros...

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Does intelligence foster generalized trust? An empirical test using the UK birth cohort studies

Cited by 65 publications

References 46 publications

The Genetic Origins of the Relationship between Psychological Traits and Social Trust

The Genetic Origins of the Relationship between Psychological Traits and Social Trust

Trusting the State, Trusting Each Other? The Effect of Institutional Trust on Social Trust

The educational roots of trust

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