Trust and Financial Crisis Experiences

Cruijsen, Carin van der; Haan, Jakob de; Jansen, David‐Jan

doi:10.1007/s11205-015-0984-8

Cited by 60 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Simply the fact that individual wellbeing is positively correlated with social trust suggests that, as economic crises decrease wellbeing, this also translates into declining social trust, whatever the causal relation. There is also evidence suggesting that social trust is affected by one's own negative experiences and, therefore, it declines during a crisis (van der Cruijsen et al 2016). However, some scepticism regarding this finding can also be found in the literature.…”

Section: Social and Institutional Trust During An Economic Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Institutional Trust in Times of Crisis: Greece, 2002–2011

2018

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Focusing on 2002-2011, we analyse levels of trust in Greece and compare them with 17 other European countries. During this period, Greece endured a serious economic crisis. Signs of increasing mistrust in all societal institutions became evident and the nation witnessed extreme phenomena, such as violent demonstrations, the surfacing of radical political ideas, parties with nationalistic and racist characteristics, and noncompliance with rules, regulations, and taxes. However, little is known about generalised social trust, i.e. interpersonal trust between individuals, during the crisis. We analyse data from the European Social Survey Rounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 to test whether the crisis affected the levels of various forms of trust among Greeks. In addition to social trust, we distinguish between trust in political institutions (e.g. politicians and the national parliament) and impartial institutions (e.g. the police and legal system). The results reveal that the level of trust people show towards political and impartial institutions decreased substantially in Greece. Surprisingly, however, interpersonal social trust did not collapse; rather, it remained stable or even slightly increased concurrently with the notable decrease in political trust. This suggests that during an economic crisis, people do not deterministically lose their trust in other individuals; instead, in the Greek case they appear to lean on each other when both political and impartial institutions fail. Moreover, it is possible that shared experiences of nearly overwhelming adversities in Greece during the crisis increase a sense of togetherness among individuals, which in turn contributed to the robustness of social trust.

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Section: Social and Institutional Trust During An Economic Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Institutional Trust in Times of Crisis: Greece, 2002–2011

2018

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“…However, there is little research on the direct consequences of suffering the effects of the economic crisis on generalized trust. The few studies that exist have shown that adverse personal experiences related to the financial crisis contribute to reducing generalized trust ( van der Cruijsen et al, 2016 ). Indeed, groups confront one another when resources seem to be scarce, and as a likely result, they trust each other less ( Fiske et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Economic Crises Always Undermine Trust in Others? The Case of Generalized, Interpersonal, and In-Group Trust

et al. 2018

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After the global economic collapse triggered by the Great Recession, there has been an increased interest in the potential psychological implications of periods of economic decline. Recent evidence suggests that negative personal experiences linked to the economic crisis may lead to diminished generalized trust (i.e., the belief that most of the people of the society are honest and can be trusted). Adding to the growing literature on the psychological consequences of the economic crisis, we propose that the perceived personal impact of the economic crisis not only would undermine generalized trust but also may lead to increased interpersonal trust (i.e., directed to specific and close people) and depersonalized in-group trust [i.e., directed to individuals who, while strangers, belong to the same group (e.g., social class)]. Across three studies (N = 1379), we tested these central hypotheses and ascertained whether the perceived personal impact of the crisis would predict these types of trust (assessed using questionnaire and behavioral measures) independent of individuals’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 1 revealed that a higher perceived personal impact of the crisis is related to lower levels of generalized trust and higher levels of interpersonal trust. These effects were independent of participants’ socioeconomic status. Non-experimental data from Study 2 replicated the findings obtained in Study 1 and also showed a positive association between the perceived personal impact of the crisis and depersonalized in-group trust. This pattern of results emerged even after controlling for socioeconomic status, gender, age, political orientation, religiosity, and unemployment status. In Study 3, using an experimental design, we found that the salience of a possible economic downturn led to decreased generalized trust and increased interpersonal and depersonalized in-group trust – independently of socioeconomic status – compared with the control condition. These results challenge the conventional wisdom that economic crises invariably undermine trust in others. The implications of the present research as well as future research directions are discussed.

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“…In addition, trust in other people is higher for females than males and positively related to homeownership, which is a rough proxy for wealth. Van der Cruijsen et al (2012) find the later effects as well for the Netherlands. Last, trust in other people is higher for people who are 34 years or younger than for people belonging to older age classes.…”

Section: Regression Methodsmentioning

confidence: 71%