Disposition to Trust Scale

What it measures

Measures the stable general propensity to trust others and institutions — disposition to trust as a personality-like individual difference that shapes initial trust in unfamiliar people, brands, websites, and organisations. Trusting Stance captures a pragmatic willingness to depend on others as a general life strategy. Faith in Humanity captures the positive belief that most people are fundamentally well-intentioned and trustworthy. Dispositional trust is the primary predictor of initial trust in new relationships when no prior experience exists — it is particularly important in e-commerce, digital service, AI, and brand contexts where consumers encounter unfamiliar providers. Higher dispositional trust predicts faster adoption of new technologies, greater willingness to share personal data, and lower perceived risk in first-time purchases. As AI-mediated services proliferate, dispositional trust has become increasingly central to technology adoption and digital consumer behaviour research.

Representative items

• I generally give people the benefit of the doubt when I first meet them. (Faith in Humanity)
• Most people can be counted on to do what they say they will do. (Faith in Humanity)
• My general approach to others is to trust them until they give me a reason not to. (Trusting Stance)
• I tend to trust people, even though I have little knowledge of them. (Trusting Stance)
• Most people are basically honest. (Faith in Humanity)

Citation

McKnight, D.H., Cummings, L.L., & Chervany, N.L. (1998). Initial trust formation in new organizational relationships. Academy of Management Review, 23(3), 473–490.