TY - JOUR
T1 - Valid and Reliable Measures of Generalized Trust
T2 - Evidence from a Nationally Representative Survey and Behavioral Experiment
AU - Robbins, Blaine G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.
PY - 2023/1/1
Y1 - 2023/1/1
N2 - Generalized trust has been one of the most frequently examined constructs since researchers first introduced measures of it in the 1940s. Despite its significance, there is a growing consensus that traditional measures of generalized trust are prone to measurement invalidity and nonequivalence, calling into question sociological knowledge about generalized trust. In this article, I advance trust research in sociology by (1) refining two new self-report measures of generalized trust—the Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and the Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST)—and (2) assessing their empirical performance on a nationally representative probability sample (N = 1,264). I compare the reliability and validity of SFT, IST, and traditional measures of generalized trust across a range of measurement validation tests. Results suggest that SFT provides the most accurate and consistent measure of generalized trust.
AB - Generalized trust has been one of the most frequently examined constructs since researchers first introduced measures of it in the 1940s. Despite its significance, there is a growing consensus that traditional measures of generalized trust are prone to measurement invalidity and nonequivalence, calling into question sociological knowledge about generalized trust. In this article, I advance trust research in sociology by (1) refining two new self-report measures of generalized trust—the Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and the Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST)—and (2) assessing their empirical performance on a nationally representative probability sample (N = 1,264). I compare the reliability and validity of SFT, IST, and traditional measures of generalized trust across a range of measurement validation tests. Results suggest that SFT provides the most accurate and consistent measure of generalized trust.
KW - confirmatory factor analysis
KW - generalized trust
KW - measurement validation
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U2 - 10.1177/23780231231192841
DO - 10.1177/23780231231192841
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85173915201
SN - 2378-0231
VL - 9
JO - Socius
JF - Socius
ER -