Abstract:

Interpersonal trust is very important for our daily-life and interpersonal communication. However, we are confronted with trust crisis recently. Thus, it is worth to exploring the predicting factors with respect to interpersonal trust. Personality traits are regarded as the important factors with respect to interpersonal trust. Especially, interpersonal personality traits such as agreeableness seem to be more closely associated with interpersonal trust. Firstly, the present study wants to explore the relationship between a new interpersonal personality construct—interpersonal self-support traits and interpersonal trust. Although interpersonal self-support shares some common components with pre-existing personality theories such as big five personality, interpersonal self-support also has some unique factors beyond known personality traits. Furthermore, interpersonal self-support has some unique effects on individuals’ psychological and behavioral responses beyond known personality traits. Based on these, our first hypothesis is that five interpersonal self-support traits of interpersonal independence, interpersonal initiative, interpersonal responsibility, interpersonal flexibility, interpersonal openness are associated with interpersonal trust. And even after controlling big five personality traits, some interpersonal self-support traits such as interpersonal responsibility still predict dispositional interpersonal trust and interpersonal trust response. Secondly, the present study explores the relational model with respect to interpersonal self-support traits, dispositional interpersonal trust, and interpersonal trust response. Our second hypothesis is that dispositional interpersonal trust plays a mediating role in the relationship between interpersonal self-support traits and interpersonal trust responses, and the cognitive responses of trust mediate the relationship between interpersonal self-support traits and behavioral responses of trust. Furthermore, dispositional interpersonal trust and cognitive responses of interpersonal trust play serial mediator role of interpersonal self-support traits on behavioral responses of interpersonal trust. In order to test these hypotheses，a set of questionnaires including Interpersonal Self-Support Scale for Undergraduate Students, Interpersonal Trust Scale, NEO Five-Factor Inventory were administrated to 1345 undergraduate students in 6 universities by the trained research assistants. In addition, a scenario story with regard to interpersonal trust was also presented to the participants and these participants were asked to answer their responses to the hypothesized trust situation on a prepared list. Results from the correlation and path analysis via structural equation modeling analyses showed that: (1) Interpersonal independence, interpersonal initiative, interpersonal responsibility, interpersonal flexibility, and interpersonal openness were positively associated with dispositional interpersonal trust, behavioral and cognitive response of interpersonal trust. (2) After statistically controlling for big five personality, interpersonal openness still predicted dispositional interpersonal trust; interpersonal responsibility still predicted behavioral and cognitive responses of interpersonal trust.(3) Interpersonal openness indirectly predicted cognitive responses of interpersonal trust through the mediating effect of dispositional interpersonal trust; in addition, it indirectly predicted behavioral responses of interpersonal trust through the mediating effect of dispositional interpersonal trust and cognitive responses of interpersonal trust. These results supported the ideas that interpersonal self-support traits are closely associated with interpersonal trust, and interpersonal self-support traits have some specific effects on dispositional interpersonal trust and interpersonal trust responses beyond big five personality. Thus these interpersonal self-support traits might be new trust-related traits. In addition, the hypothesized dispositional interpersonal trust mediation model with respect to the relationship between interpersonal self-support traits and trust responses, and the expected serial mediation model of interpersonal self-support traits on behavioral responses of interpersonal trust were partly supported.

摘要：

采用大学生人际自立量表、人际信任量表、大五人格简式量表等工具对1345名大学生进行的调查和情境研究显示：控制大五人格后，人际开放仍能预测人际信任倾向，并能通过人际信任倾向的中介作用间接预测人际信任的认知和行为反应；人际责任仍能直接预测人际信任的认知与行为反应。这提示，在对人际信任的预测方面，人际责任和人际开放具有大五人格所不能解释的独特作用，并在一定程度上支持了人格与人际信任反应的人际信任倾向中介模型。