What is trust? A prototype analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21615/cesp.7500Keywords:
trust, concepts, prototype analysis, cooperation, trust gameAbstract
Trust is an essential phenomenon for understanding human behavior and the functioning of institutions. Although some ways of conceptualizing trust have been suggested within psychology, this discipline has primarily adopted a conceptual notion derived from economics, which emphasizes the rational and utilitarian nature of the phenomenon. The aim of this study is to determine individuals' intuitive understanding of trust and to assess whether this notion aligns with the economic conceptualization. To achieve this, a prototype analysis was conducted across three studies. In the first study, the characteristic features of the concept were identified; in the second, the degree of centrality of these features was determined in two independent samples of English and Spanish speakers; and in the third, the use of these features in everyday cases was evaluated. The results suggest that the concept of trust exhibits a prototypical structure for both groups of participants and that the intuitive understanding of the concept presents notable differences from the canonical definition that emerged within the framework of neoclassical economic theories.
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