Understanding the Trust Deficit in China

Using social identity theory and intergroup contact theory, we attempted to understand and address an empirical conundrum that Chinese hold a relatively low level of trust toward generalized others. We hypothesized that people who have positive experiences with out-group rather than in-group members will report higher generalized trust. In three experiments with Chinese participants, perceiving support of (Study 1), receiving help from (Study 2), and being trusted by (Study 3) out-group members led to higher generalized trust. Indirect reciprocity partially mediated this relationship. Study 4 added field evidence by showing that reciprocal helping with out-groups instead of in-groups generated higher generalized trust among Chinese respondents. Study 5 demonstrated a similar pattern across various countries using cross-national data sets and a cross-level analysis. This research offers insights into China's trust deficit and contributes to the trust literature by investigating how specific and eventful experiences shape normally stable generalized trust.