Trust in Social Relations

Item Type Journal Article Author Oliver Schilke Author Martin Reimann Author Karen S. Cook URL https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-soc-082120-082850 Volume 47 Issue 1 Pages 239-259 Publication Annual Review of Sociology ISSN 0360-0572, 1545-2115 Date 2021-07-31 Journal Abbr Annu. Rev. Sociol. DOI 10.1146/annurev-soc-082120-082850 Accessed 2025-05-08 20:55:10 Library Catalog DOI.org (Crossref) Language en Abstract Trust is key to understanding the dynamics of social relations, to the extent that it is often viewed as the glue that holds society together. We review the mounting sociological literature to help answer what trust is and where it comes from. To this end, we identify two research streams—on particularized trust and generalized trust, respectively—and propose an integrative framework that bridges these lines of research while also enhancing conceptual precision. This framework provides the springboard for identifying several important avenues for future research, including new investigations into the radius of trust, the intermediate form of categorical trust, and the interrelationships between different forms of trust. This article also calls for more scholarship focusing on the consequences (versus antecedents) of trust, addressing more fully the trustee side of the relation, and employing new empirical methods. Such novel approaches will ensure that trust research will continue to provide important insights into the functioning of modern society in the years to come.