On the importance of trust in interpersonal attraction from attitude similarity

Abstract

Trust has been identified as a key factor in relationship development and appreciation of group members. However, trust has not been previously considered as a reason for attitude similarity to result in attraction. Thus, in the current research, the authors investigated trust as a key component of attraction based on attitude similarity. Trust was shown to significantly mediate attitude similarity effects on attraction when measured alone (Experiment 1) and alongside positive affect in the participants (Experiment 2A), respect for the partner (Experiment 2B), or inferred partner's attraction to the participants (Experiment 2C). Trust was also shown to have independent effects on attraction when juxtaposed with all three of the traditional mediators of attitude similarity effects (Experiment 3). Implications of these findings for models of attraction are discussed.

Attitude alignment increases trust, respect, and perceived reasoning ability to produce attraction

“…In other words, we considered multiple mediators in parallel, but we did not test them sequentially. Past research suggests a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the ordering of inferred attraction, respect, and trust as mediators in the link between attitude similarity and attraction (Singh et al, ; Singh et al, ), and the present research is the first to examine multiple potential mediators of partner attitude alignment. Thus, we had no clear theoretical foundation for the sequential ordering of these variables in the link between attitude alignment and attraction and no clear foundation for how perceived reasoning ability might fit in a sequential order.…”

“…Trust grows through experience with a partner, and trust in a partner implies that the partner is viewed as reliable, dependable, and benevolent and that the relationship with the partner is rewarding (Rempel et al, ). Trust generally entails the belief that a partner will share resources, typically over an extended period of time, in order to benefit the individual or their collective well‐being (Brewer, ; Singh et al, ). Trust was identified as the single most desired attribute by individuals in forming interdependent groups (e.g., work teams; Cottrell et al, ) and was the most frequently preferred trait across a range of independent (e.g., new neighbor in apartment building) and interdependent relationships (e.g., study partner; Abele & Brack, ).…”

“…Although some research has shown that we feel more positive affect when we encounter partners who hold attitudes that are similar to our own (Byrne & Clore, ; Singh, Chen, & Wegener, ), inconsistencies exist in the ability of positive affect to mediate the similarity–attraction link (Singh et al, ; Singh et al, ; Singh, Ng, Ong, & Lin, ). Individuals have even been found to report less attraction to partners when experiencing greater positive affect (Singh, Ho, et al, ; Singh, Yeo, et al, ), leading researchers to suggest that positive affect may not be a proximal mediator in the attitude similarity–attraction relationships (Singh et al, ). Singh et al () also note that positive affect functions as a weak mediator regardless of whether positive affect is framed in terms of activity and interest or joy.…”

“…Individuals have even been found to report less attraction to partners when experiencing greater positive affect (Singh, Ho, et al, ; Singh, Yeo, et al, ), leading researchers to suggest that positive affect may not be a proximal mediator in the attitude similarity–attraction relationships (Singh et al, ). Singh et al () also note that positive affect functions as a weak mediator regardless of whether positive affect is framed in terms of activity and interest or joy. More importantly for the present research, previous attitude alignment research determined that individuals did not experience higher positive affect when they learned that a partner had engaged (vs. did not engage) in attitude alignment (Reid et al, ).…”

Research Productivity in Management Schools of India: A Directional Benefit-of-Doubt Model Analysis

“…Second, there is a growing trend of publishing an article with multiple authors. For example, the present second author, who published singleauthored articles in 1970s [30,31], 1980s [32,33] and 1990s [34][35][36], has recently been publishing articles authored with 8 to 10 colleagues and/or students to train these younger generation of scholars [37,38].…”