Whom Do We Trust? On How We Assess Others’ Trustworthiness

The aim of this paper is to integrate competing notions of trustworthiness in the literature on trust under a common framework. I defend a notion of trustworthiness around three criteria: competence, predictability, and responsiveness. These are both necessary and sufficient conditions for trustworthiness assessments. Competence means having the required abilities to fulfill one’s trust in a certain matter, but also the capacity to understand, assess, and choose the best way to apply those abilities in that matter. Predictability means both reliability and having the relevant reasons to fulfill one’s trust in that respective matter. Responsiveness captures the trustee’s intentionality about or directed at the trustor, her willingness to fulfill her trust. The three criteria are not fixed characteristics of the trustee; assessments of each will reflect aspects that are relevant under specific trust situations. The criteria seek to establish a common ground for trust research to reconcile different perspectives, while recognizing that trust is a highly contextual and relational notion.