To Trust or Not to Trust

Trust thought for today is my reflections on what contributes to a decision to trust or not. It's not simply about the actions of others, but also:

- Our genetics and pre-dispositions (we all know the optimist and the pessimist, and behavioural science has alot to say about all human biases and shortcuts);

- Our upbringing (eg cults have a very narrow view of those whose opinion can be trusted, where multicultural upbringings may broaden our curiosity and tolerance of different perspectives)

- Our experiences (eg if your trust has been well placed, or if you have been systematically discriminated against, you will trust different people, organisations or systems than those who have not)

- Our identity, politics, friends and influencers and our view on what this trust decision says about us

- The context, the culture of where we live, what's happening in the world, what's top of the news.

- Our knowledge and assumptions on the personal benefits and risks of the decision based on our view of the trustworthiness of the organisation, system, process, person we are considering whether or not to trust.

... and perhaps lots more!

www.tigtech.org P 60-67