According to a report by LA Post, a new study challenges the traditional view of trust and betrayal. The research conducted by psychologists from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Oklahoma State University reveals that people may still trust someone who has betrayed others if they personally benefit from the betrayal. The study, published in Evolution and Human Behavior, suggests that making trust decisions based solely on past betrayals may not be the most effective approach.
Co-author of the study and UCLA psychology professor Jaimie Krems explained that people tend to view betrayers as untrustworthy, but they may make exceptions when the betrayal works in their favor. The researchers conducted experiments to examine how people evaluate trustworthiness in different types of relationships, such as friendships, romantic partnerships, and professional contexts. Results showed that individuals were more likely to trust someone who remained loyal by not betraying anyone, but they also rated betrayers as trustworthy when the betrayal directly benefited them.
The experiments involved participants reading scenarios involving secret-sharing among friends, romantic infidelity, and professional intelligence gathering. After reading these scenarios, participants rated the targets’ trustworthiness on a seven-point scale. The results consistently showed that participants rated individuals who did not betray anyone as more trustworthy, but they also considered betrayers trustworthy when the betrayal worked in their favor.
This research suggests that trust decisions are not solely based on moral character but are influenced by self-interest and personal benefit. The findings have implications for personal relationships as well as professional and organizational contexts where trust and loyalty are essential for decision-making and relationship-building. The study highlights the importance of considering how someone’s past behavior and actions affect the individual making the assessment when evaluating trustworthiness.
While one may begin with noble intentions of trusting others, their actions often revolve around self-interest in reality. The research team highlighted that their results supported their belief that assessments of trustworthiness are influenced by an individual’s character and unique circumstances involving both the observer and the person being judged. This article was created by the LA Post and curated and shared by Stacker.
