Do you trust strangers, close acquaintances, and members of your ingroup? Differences in trust based on social class in Spain

Abstract

Social class is a multifaceted social category that shapes numerous states and psychological processes, as well as the manner in which we relate to others. Trust, on the other hand, is a prerequisite for the initiation and maintenance of satisfactory social relationships. With 899 participants of both sexes drawn from the general population, this study examined the relationship between membership in a particular social class and three different types of trust: generalized, interpersonal, and depersonalized ingroup (social class). It was found that social class was positively related to generalized trust and negatively to interpersonal trust and depersonalized ingroup trust. These relationships were independent of the participants’ gender, age, and political ideology. The results are discussed in light of the importance of the existing relationship between a variable of macrosocial order, such as social class, and psychological variables, such as the different types of trust analyzed.