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The difference between a high- and low-trust relationship is palpable! Take communication. In a high-trust relationship, you can say the wrong thing, and people will still get your meaning. In a low-trust relationship, you can be very measured, even precise, and they’ll still misinterpret you.
The General Social Survey reveals that only 31% of Americans believe that other people can be trusted, down from 48% three decades ago. Data from the World Values Survey shows that most Latin American and African countries are below 20%, with some countries below 10%. Four decades ago in Great Britain,
60% of the population believed other people could be trusted; today, it’s down to 29%. The “good” news of this study—relatively speaking—is that 68% of Scandinavians (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) and 68% of the people in the Netherlands believe others can be trusted, indicating that there are some higher-trust societies. And The Netherland’s figure has increased by 23 absolute percentage points in a five-year period, which demonstrates that it is possible to increase societal trust.
That principle is credibility, or believability.
