Rule Comes First: The Influences of Market Attributes on Interpersonal Trust in the Marketization Process

Previous research has found negative effects of “market” as a global concept on trust. The current research differentiated the effects of two market attributes on trust. Study 1 found a negative effect of market priming on interpersonal trust. Study 2 manipulated the representations of the two market attributes by rendering either impetus or rule attribute relatively salient. The results showed that compared with highlighting impetus, highlighting rule improved interpersonal trust and facilitated trust recovery. In Study 3, we analyzed macroeconomic indicators and applied cross‐temporal meta‐analysis to reveal the negative relationship between reduced interpersonal trust and damaged market rule as reflected by the marketization index. The present research explains why Chinese marketization has negatively impacted interpersonal trust: Market rules that protect interpersonal trust have been weakened during the process of marketization, whereas the impetus attribute of market, which is harmful to interpersonal trust, has become more salient. These findings highlight the importance of establishing comprehensive market rules.