Women and men who experience early interpersonal violence are at increased risk for subsequent victimization. Little is known about the mechanisms by which early trauma increases vulnerability for revictimization. According to Betrayal Trauma Theory, harm perpetrated by close others early in life may impair the ability to accurately decipher trust and identify betrayal, thus increasing risk for future violation. Dissociation, a state of cognitive, emotional, and experiential disconnectedness, is theorized to facilitate impaired betrayal awareness, and peritraumatic dissociation (i.e., dissociation at the time of a traumatic event) has been linked to revictimization. The present study extended this existing knowledge and tested predictions made by Betrayal Trauma Theory through the examination of the impact of high betrayal trauma on self-report and behavioral trust tendencies and betrayal awareness in a college sample of 216 individuals with and without histories of trauma high in betrayal. The impact of peritraumatic dissociation on betrayal awareness was examined. Participants completed self-report measures of peritraumatic dissociation and relational and general trust. The Trust Game, an experimental economics task, was used to investigate behavioral trust. A picture drawn to depict sexual abuse of a child was used as a betrayal stimulus to examine betrayal awareness in the sample. Results replicated prior work indicating an increased risk for revictimization among individuals who reported high betrayal trauma during childhood and/or adolescence. As predicted, high betrayal trauma exposure was associated with lower levels of self-reported general and relational trust. Self-reported general trust was positively correlated with behavior during the Trust Game. Participants with histories of high betrayal trauma reported higher levels of peritraumatic dissociation when confronted with the betrayal stimulus, and rates of peritraumatic dissociation contributed significantly to betrayal awareness. The findings of this study suggest betrayal trauma early in life disrupts developing socio-emotional functions, namely the ability to judge trustworthiness. The results provide evidence for the role of peritraumatic dissociation in awareness for betrayal. Despite the preliminary nature of this work, the results represent an important step toward better understanding the long-term consequences of high betrayal trauma, suggesting ways interventions may be tailored to subvert the effects of trauma.

The main research problem in this study was to identify what trust-building strategies can be utilised by organisations to enhance collective bargaining processes. To achieve this objective a theoretical Institutional Arrangements-Based Model of trust-building was conceptualised, developed and presented in Chapter 5. The presentation of this model was the culmination of the research design phases outlined below: -The first phase consisted of a literature survey undertaken to discover the nature and dynamics of the concept "trust". -The second phase consisted of surveying the literature attempting to understand the nature of the collective bargaining process, its elements and types and the environmental factors that tend to impinge on it. -The final phase of the literature survey focused on various trust-building strategies, theories and models that can be utilised by organisations to ii enhance collective bargaining processes. Trust is generally acknowledged as a necessary requirement for effective and successful workplace relationships. Because of this factor it is crucial that South African employer-employee relationships are improved in a conscious and sustainable way in order for our businesses to remain competitive in the face of global competition. With this reality in mind there is still much in the South African labour relations environment that fosters conflict. One of the primary factors that impinge on trust in employer-employee relations in South Africa is the previous government‘s divisive and racist apartheid policies. These policies have resulted in serious structural imbalances in the economy, the skewed distribution of wealth and the general scarcity of resources to address these attendant challenges. Finnemore and van Rensburg (2002, p. 36) surveys the current labour relations scenario and comments about the extent to which it has been severely affected by apartheid. Some of its appalling outcomes are: racial divisions between skilled and unskilled workers, apartheid wage gaps, poorly educated workers, dictatorial management styles and a lack of protection for the most vulnerable workers. As revealed in this research study there are still widely divergent views at the workplace regarding the nature and levels of trust that are prevalent. The overwhelming view, however, is that there is, generally, a lack of trust between managerial and employee collective bargaining teams. This lack of trust which is evident between employer and employee parties will tend to result in collective bargaining processes being embarked upon in a climate imbued with the negative spirit of distrust. The recommended Institutional Arrangements-Based Model of trust-building advocates for a process of trust-building prior to any collective bargaining initiatives. This process, as depicted in the elements of the recommended model, needs to begin with phases which will focus on frame-alignment and the identification of all sources of distrust between the parties. These prescribed sessions seek to culminate in a common understanding, between the contesting parties, of their real divergent issues and concerns as well as their existing commonalities. The next phases of the recommended model entail the parties, jointly, developing proposals and policies that in the short and long term will aim at the resolution of the identified sources of distrust and thereby reduce the psychological distance between them. The final phase of the model entails the implementation of joint problem–solving resolutions and the development of appropriate policies i.e. institutional arrangements, to deal with all conflict-prone areas of the business operations. Simultaneously, there needs to be continuous evaluation and monitoring of organisational trust and the "agreed to" trust-building strategies to ensure that distrust is reduced or eliminated in the long term, allowing the organisation and the individual employees to perform at their optimum in order to achieve their common goals.

This short dissertation concerns the Internet and the role that this medium is playing in the purchasing of goods and services. More specifically, it focuses on the importance of trust in business-to-consumer E-Commerce in South Africa. It identifies the factors that produce a sense of trustworthiness, investigates their interactions and relative importance to the consumer. Understanding the roles of these different factors would allow online retailers to ease consumers' concerns and could hasten the maturation of online purchasing. A total of 1 573 online questionnaires, measuring different issues surrounding trust were completed by customers of the South African icanonline Internet portal (see the Internet website http://www.icanonline.co.za). Findings indicated that gaining the consumer's trust is very important for the online merchant to reduce the level of perceived risk. Since consumers cannot see the outcomes of their shopping process ahead of time, they will judge an online shopping website based on cues that they encounter as they shop. Brand, navigation, fulfillment, security, privacy protection and the logos of trusted third parties constitute some of the essential formal characteristics of websites that communicate trustworthiness to visitors. Due to the nature of the icanonline portal and the fact that most customers displayed a high level of Internet experience and education, the results could not be generalised, this provides an opportunity for future comparative research. / Prof. S. Kruger

Business to business trust is topical, and the decision to outsource noncore professional services is gaining momentum. This study sought to understand the role of trust in the selection of a first time professional services provider. Through a review of the literature, the study built a model of six trust dimensions in the business to business space, structured by two factors - Trust and Reliance. Using non probability sampling, decision makers and influencers across heterogeneous companies and industries were surveyed through a web based, self completed questionnaire. Using 157 responses, the model was tested in terms of its components (trust dimensions, grouped into the two factors) and outcomes (the relationship between the trust dimensions, Global Trust, and the trust factors on first time Purchase Intent). Little proof was found for the proposed model, from a six dimensions or two factors perspective. Revealed by the data, however, was a new two factor solution – Earned trust (trust based on past performance) and Expected trust (trust derived from the expectation of performance going forward). Global Trust was found to have a significant relationship with Purchase Intent; Interpersonal trust was found to be the most prominent dimension influencing the buying decision; and Expected Trust was revealed as the most influential and valid individual factor. Key limitations include the single item Purchase Intent scale; the heterogeneous sample in terms of industry and company size; the specialisation of the sample to the purchasing of small business management and consulting projects and the cross sectional nature of the research. Going forward this would imply the need to source a multi itemed Purchase Intent scale to strengthen the scale’s degree of validity, accuracy, and reliability; explore the trust and Purchase Intent relationship in both small and large companies and from an industry specific perspective; investigate more fully the business management and consulting skills service subset; and test for the respective importance of Earned versus Expected trust in relation to Purchase Intent across the phases of relationship development. The study offers empirical proof for the relationship between Global Trust and Purchase Intent in professional services and for the importance of interpersonal relationships in this space. Most importantly, it lays the foundation of construct validity for the more comprehensive trust scale of Earned and Expected trust. From a business perspective, findings of this study infer that in order to present as an attractive partner, providers must invest their energy in sharing past performance and track record in order to reduce buyer uncertainty; and must spend considerably more effort in creating confident expectations about how performance and goodwill will be guaranteed going forward. Prioritisation of efforts should be on building the perception among potential buyers of the expertise and integrity of the professionals within the supplier organisation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Service members have reported the perception that seeking treatment for, and/or having a mental illness will cause a loss of trust between a service member and his/her leaders and peers (Nash, Silva, and Litz, 2009; Hoge et al, 2004). This study aimed to determine if the presence of a mental illness affects the trust between service members and determine whether other variables moderated this relationship. Using social media and Mechanical Turk an internet participant-recruiting site operated by Amazon, data were collected from 220 military Veterans. Participants were assessed using a research developed Demographics Questionnaire, the Combat Exposure Scale, The Unit Cohesion Scale, and the Trust in Teams Scale. Participants were randomized into three groups. Each of the three groups read a different scenario depicting a service member. Results of this study do not support the existence of a measureable loss in trust with disclosure of a mental illness. A significant increase in predictability and global trust scores was observed when participants read the scenario different scenarios. The results, specifically that trust did not change as a function of a unit member displaying symptoms of mental illness and that treatment for a mental illness, improved trust scores on the facets of global trust and predictability, provide the basis for future research into this area.

The first two experiments examined the relationship between risk and trust behaviour in two field situations. The third experiment was a replication of Wright, Maggied, and Palmer (1975). A conceptualization of trust, which included the factors: disposition, risk assessment (level of risk and interpersonal variables), and behavioural intention was outlined. The subject group was composed of 240 female undergraduates enlisted on the premises of the main library at the University of Victoria, Canada. In the first two experiments, a between groups' trust behaviour was compared over conditions of low and high manipulated risk. In both experiments, trust behaviour, which was found to vary significantly over risk conditions, was compared with ratings of risk assessment and scores obtained on Rotter's Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS). Preliminary indications are that trust behaviour is not significantly related to risk-taking as reflected by subjects' choice of prize for completing the experiment. The third experiment did not replicate the results of Wright, et al. (1975) and showed no relationship between the number and type of questions asked by high or low scorers on the ITS. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This research investigates the role that the individualist/collectivist dimension plays in the selection of the preferred method of building trust. Sixty five middle managers from a primary metal producer were analysed using two surveys. The individuals were classified as either individualists or collectivists and then asked to rate several statements regarding a preferred means of trust. The various means of developing trust were calculative, predictive, intentionality, capability and transference. The data collected should that only with calculative trust development did a clear preference exist between collectivists and individualists. The four remaining trust development processes were equally likely to be used by either group. The data also showed that neither race, nor language nor ethnic group could be used as a predictor of assignment to either cultural dimension. The selection of the sample population and the subsequent influence of organisation specific phenomenon were found to be highly influential on the selection of trust building process. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

<p>Prior literature on trust repair has focused primarily on exploring the effectiveness of different trust repair tactics in various contexts and the study of repair of trust as a process has been neglected. The literature has also suggested the presence of the humpty-dumpty effect in trust repair i.e. trust cannot be completely repaired once broken, though the claim has been more philosophical than empirical. In this dissertation, we explore the effect of tactic composites instead of analyzing the effect of each tactic separately (as has been the trend in the literature) that can be incorporated by the trustee to repair trust. We also develop multiple pathways that can potentially repair trust completely (specifically, redirect and replenish pathways) and one pathway that can restore the relationship by reestablishing cooperation but without repairing trust (redefine pathway). We structure the tactic composites within these pathways to explore the possibility of complete trust repair. Our results from a policy-capturing technique study and an experimental study show that in the redirect pathway, factual or symbolic evidence backed denial (but not denial alone) increases believability of the innocence claim by the trustee and can repair trust by improving the level of broken trustworthiness of the trustee. In the replenish pathway, only tactic composites that showcase regret through verbal tactics and repentance through behavioral tactics are able to make the trustor perceive that the trustee experiences remorse for the transgression, and only tactics that cater to individual and relational disequilibrium can increase perceived norm restoration in the eyes of the trustor. Both perceived remorse and norm restoration improved the levels of the broken trustworthiness. Finally, in the redefine pathway, strong control systems were better than weak control systems to restore cooperation, even though they had a negative relationship with the level of post-intervention trust. We also tested the potential of complete trust repair through the redirect pathway but did not find conclusive evidence. We discuss the limitations of the empirical studies and make suggestions for future research.</p>

The study investigated the antecedents to disposition to trust with regard to the Accelerated Reader program. The areas considered were teachers’ experience, teachers’ peer experience, teachers’ peer support, gender, and age. The population for this study consisted of teachers who used Accelerated Reader from four school districts in Louisiana. The total number of teachers who were given the survey was 417, and the number of teachers who completed the survey was 301, resulting in a response rate of 72.2%. In this study, 6 research questions were addressed. The first question asked whether a statistically significant relationship exists between teachers’ experience in using electronic education tools and their disposition to trust Accelerated Reader technology to facilitate reading instruction. The second question asked if a statistically significant relationship exists between teachers’ peer experience and their disposition to trust Accelerated Reader software technology to improve reading instruction. The third question asked if a statistically significant relationship exists between teachers’ peer support and their disposition to trust that Accelerated Reader software technology improves reading instruction. The fourth question asked if a relationship exists between teachers’ gender and their disposition to trust that the Accelerated Reader technology will improve reading instruction. The fifth research question asked if a statistically significant relationship exists between teachers’ age and their disposition to trust that the Accelerated Reader technology will improve reading instruction. Finally, the sixth research question asked if teachers trust that Accelerated Reader technology is perceived as effective in helping to improve reading instruction. The results found that teachers’ experience, teachers’ peer experience, teachers’ peer support, and gender were all antecedents that had meaningful statistical relationships with disposition to trust. Gender was found to affect only 1% of the overall variance of disposition to trust when all five variables were examined together; however, findings indicated that females had less disposition to trust than males. Multiple age brackets were found to be insignificant.

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