Trust

Benevolence is the most heavily weighted component of trust in practice, even though most individuals and institutions lead with competence when establishing credibility. Trust is built and broken according to a hierarchy among competence, honesty, and benevolence. Trust is an evolutionary survival mechanism; without cooperative support, a mother with a child cannot collect sufficient calories to sustain both herself and her offspring. Trust involves accepting vulnerability to possible harm or exploitation by another person. Growing up around danger, betrayal, or violence can create a persistent background fear that makes trusting others a major conscious decision rather than something automatic. Trust is broadly composed of three elements: competence, honesty/integrity, and benevolence. Choosing to trust others after a life shaped by fear requires emotional discipline and discernment. The willingness to be vulnerable is the core of trust and is literally encoded into human survival behavior. When deeply held trust is broken, the resulting betrayal is especially painful. A single discovered lie retroactively casts doubt on all past and future statements, making honesty breaches es…