Normal acts of irrational trust, motivated attributions, and the trust development process

This paper presents a new, motivated attributions model of trust development. The model builds on two simple insights: the parties in a potentially trusting relationship are likely to view their interaction differently and their attributions of each other's behavior will be self-servingly motivated. These interpersonal asymmetrie help to explain why trustors, contrary to the prescriptions of the dominant, rational choice approach, may engage in precipitous acts of trust and when and why these acts, rather than being irrational and ineffective, can be crucial to trust development. The paper explores the consequences of these insights for interpersonal interactions and discusses the potential for extensions to interorganizational interactions.