Predictors of Trust

How can we tell if someone is trustworthy? How are others judging whether or not we are trustworthy? How much of this assessment goes on consciously, and how much goes on without you even realizing it?

Trust has been described as “the lubricant of the social system.” As something that plays such a central role in how we make decisions, communicate, and live, it makes sense that our brains have come up with quick ways to assess it and that it continues to be a topic of research in so many fields.

THREE TRUST PREDICTORS (AND WHY WE HAVE THEM BACKWARDS)

Researchers have long been attempting to identify what characteristics lead to trustworthiness. When the research is viewed as a whole, there are three characteristics that show up in nearly all models—ability, integrity, and benevolence. Those are considered the big three, if you will, in terms of what individuals are looking at to determine whether or not they trust someone.

• Ability: Is this person competent? Do they deliver results? Are these results consistent?
• Integrity: Is this person fair? Are they honest? Do they act objectively and communicate transparently?
• Benevolence: Does this person care about my well-being? Do we share the same goals? Are they empathetic? 

Unfortunately, most of us go about convincing people that we have these three attributes in the wrong order. Think about it—when you’re trying to win a client or get a job, what do you do? Pull out the resume. You can trust me because I have these credentials. I went to this excellent school and have this many years of experience.

The problem is, as we’ve said before, we’re really just cavemen with computers. Long ago when your caveman ancestor was trying to decide whether he should trust Borg (Borg is one of the most popular caveman names. It’s true—look it up.) to lead the hunting party, he asked himself questions. Is Borg a skilled hunter? Is Borg going to split the mammoth meat fairly between all of the hunters? Does Borg really care about me, or would he just as soon stab me with his spear and take my bone necklace? Except he asks these questions in the opposite order.

Who cares if Borg is an excellent hunter if he’s planning on murdering you? First, our caveman forefather looked at benevolence. Once he felt safe, he looked at integrity. Only when he knew he would live and get a fair share of meat did he care about Borg’s hunting prowess. And this is still how we assess trustworthiness today.

When we focus on our ability before we establish our benevolence and integrity, it can backfire. Who better to take advantage of someone than a really smart person who is neither empathetic nor fair? Ability, integrity, and benevolence are three traits you want to show your clients and prospects, but as Harvard Business School professor Amy Cuddy says, “A warm, trustworthy person who is also strong elicits admiration, but only after you’ve established trust does your strength become a gift rather than a threat.”

ONE MORE TRUST PREDICTOR WE CAN ALL FEEL BAD ABOUT

Research published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that one of the best predictors of an individual’s trustworthiness is guilt-proneness. This trait is described as the expectation of experiencing guilt in the future. The more guilt-prone someone is the higher their trustworthiness. (In other news, I have been named as the world’s most trustworthy person. I feel bad about it, like maybe I stole the title from someone more deserving.) 

This isn’t the first time that guilt-proneness has been shown to be indicative of something positive. Research from Stanford found that those who are more prone to guilt (based on psychological testing) perform better as leaders. Not only that—they are perceived as better leaders by others.

Guilt is not something most of us intuitively associate with leadership, and it’s not something our brains are primed to look for. Based on the research, however, perhaps guilt-related questions should be included during the interview process, especially for those in leadership roles. Ask candidates about a time they made a mistake at work. How did they feel? What did they do about it? Did they learn anything from the experience?

WHAT DOES OUR BRAIN SEE?

As we interact with people we assess and reassess how much we trust them. We use traits like benevolence and ability to help us determine how much we trust them. It’s also true, however, that our brain judges someone’s trustworthiness in a matter of milliseconds, before any sort of interaction has taken place. Even if we know nothing about a person, our brain immediately provides a starting point for how trustworthy we think they are.

How does it do that?! One theory is that differences in bone structure are acting as cues to the amygdala (a part of the brain that helps regulate fear and emotions) as to how trustworthy someone is. Males that have higher levels of testosterone in adolescence end up with a higher facial width-height ratio (their faces are broader and shorter). Our brains associate this face shape with increased aggression and less trustworthiness.

All of this happens subconsciously in 33 milliseconds. Cheekbone definition, inner eyebrow height, chin width—all of these features we don’t even consciously notice impact our assessment of others. They all go into our brain’s mysterious equation for determining another person’s trustworthiness.

Nobody said the brain was fair.

IS TRUSTWORTHINESS GENETIC?

Our focus this month on trust is meant to give you a better idea of how people determine trust and things you can do to help you earn someone’s trust sooner. But are you actually trustworthy and empathetic? And what makes you more or less trustworthy than someone else? It turns out that at least some of the answer is based on genetics.

Research from the University of California, Berkeley looked out how trustworthy and empathetic participants were rated by observers who watched them interacting with their partners. They specifically watched while participants listened while their partners spoke. The listeners who got the highest rating for empathy all had the same version of an oxytocin-receptor gene. Oxytocin plays a major role in how we form social bonds.

Remember high school biology? How your eye-color gene could be brown (B) or blue (b) and you got either a brown or a blue from each parent? You could be BB, Bb, bB, or bb? This is the same thing except instead of eye color it’s empathy and instead of bb giving you blue eyes, it makes you more empathetic. I’m simplifying, but that’s the gist.

The observers can’t see someone’s genes, but what they did pick up on were the trustworthy behaviors these individuals exhibited—head nods, eye contact, smiling, and open body posture. This one gene is not the only determinant of empathy—it’s not that simple—but it does play a role. The good news is that these trustworthy behaviors can be learned no matter your genetic makeup.

Trust is complex—in how it’s defined, how it’s measured, and how people predict and judge whether other people deserve it. Some factors you can control (smiling, noticing efforts made by others), while other factors are out of your hands (face shape, gene makeup).

Remember that feelings of trust are not constant. Maybe you’re a wide-faced, non-empathetic-gene-carrying sales professional who has never felt an ounce of guilt—it’s okay. You, too, can build trust between yourself and your prospects and clients. In a few weeks, we’ll share some tips and tricks that can help facilitate trust-building. In the meantime, chin up. No, seriously, it makes your cheekbones look more defined.

Contact us at mastery@maestrogroup.co to schedule workshops for your team or ask about our leadership development program.