The detrimental effects of no trust: Active decisions of no trust cause stronger affective and behavioral reactions than inactive decisions

The detrimental impact of trust issues depends on the decision’s nature. Active decisions lead to more negative evaluations, heightened negative emotions, and reduced satisfaction with outcomes, despite constant payoffs and final earnings.

Trust is a fragile and abstract feeling, influenced by social constructs, individual characteristics, and personal perceptions. We often shape our decision to trust someone based on these factors. However, feeling mistrusted can have profound effects on our psychological well-being. Mistrust can heighten negative emotions, decrease satisfaction, and reduce altruism in subsequent interactions. This emotional and behavioral impact underscores the importance of trust in maintaining psychological health and fostering positive relationships. Understanding these dynamics helps in addressing the consequences of mistrust and improving overall mental well-being.

The Detrimental Effects of Trust Breaches: Active Decisions Reduce Altruism and Increase Negative Reactions

Psychologists from the University of Leiden explored how mistrust affects emotions and behavior in two experiments. To do so, they employed an adapted version of the Trust Game paradigm, where the participants were all assigned the position of Person B, and were all informed that their opponent , Person A had decided to not allow them to distribute the monetary outcomes. This decision had either been an inactive decision that Person A had not offered them with the option to distribute the outcomes or it might be an active decision as well where Person A might have taken away their option to distribute outcomes which they previously distributed.

Both studies revealed that not trusting someone significantly impacts individuals, with the nature of the decision—active or inactive—playing a crucial role. Active decisions, where the person imposed mistrust, led to harsher judgments toward that person. Participants felt more negative emotions and less satisfaction despite consistent payoffs and final earnings across all conditions. In contrast, inactive decisions, where mistrust was not actively enforced, did not have as pronounced an effect. These findings highlight the strong psychological impact of active versus inactive trust decisions on emotional and evaluative responses.

Active trust breaches led to reduced altruism in subsequent games, affecting both Person A and uninvolved Person C.