Process / pipelineSocial Trust

Generalized Trust Scale

The Generalized Trust Scale measures an individual's propensity to trust people in general, particularly strangers with whom they have no direct relationship. Originally developed by Morris Rosenberg in 1956 and later refined by Toshio Yamagishi and colleagues, it has become foundational in research on social capital, civic participation, and intergroup relations.

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Sources

  1. Rosenberg, M. (1956). Misanthropy, political ideology, and political information. Public Opinion Quarterly, 20(2), 274-290. DOI: 10.1086/266599
  2. Yamagishi, T., & Yamagishi, M. (1994). Trust and commitment in the United States and Japan. Motivation and Emotion, 18(2), 129-166. DOI: 10.1007/BF02249397
  3. Uslaner, E. M. (2002). The Moral Foundations of Trust. Cambridge University Press. link

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Referenced by

ScholarGateGeneralized Trust Scale (Generalized Trust in Strangers Scale). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/political-sociology/generalized-trust-scale