ABSTRACT
Trust refers to the willingness to rely on others, whose behavior we often cannot directly control or fully predict. Assessing the trustworthiness of others therefore helps US choose whom we allow into our inner circle of family and friends, or to decide how we behave towards colleagues and supervisors at work. The willingness and ability to trust others is a key factor in interpersonal relations and social networks. In real life we mostly infer the actual endorsement of moral principles and the likely intentions of others to behave in a trustworthy manner from their overt behaviors. Inferred intentions can even overrule conclusions based on objective features of the behavior itself. Neither the willingness to trust others nor the trustworthiness they display are given with the position of control or dependence they have. The chapter highlights that actively recruiting, engaging, and supporting individuals who are reluctant to take on power, benefits mutual trust and builds more productive relationships.
