At the core, trust is an assurance that lets people manage risks in their relationships with others. As a decision mechanism, trust frees people to work closely together, and a lack of trust keeps reminding them to remain guarded
Interpersonal trust is the perception that we have that the other person will not intentionally or unintentionally do anything that harms our interest. It is the feeling that we can depend on that other person to meet our expectations when we are not able to control or monitor his or her behavior.
Although these three dimensions are linked with each other, each of them contribute separately to influence the level of trust in one another within a relationship. Ability and Integrity are likely to be most influential to be most influential early in a relationship while Loyalty needs more time to emerge. The effect of Loyalty increases as the relationship matures and the parties grow closer
This instrument measures trust in four aspects:
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Openness: This dimension is linked to the Loyalty aspect of the trust scale
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Professional Support or Concern: This dimension is linked to the Integrity aspect of the trust scale especially when considering the congruence between a person's "word and deed"
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Competency: This dimension is linked to the Ability aspect of the trust scale
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Communication: This dimension is linked to the Integrity aspect on the trust scale particularly when considering the credibility and transparency of communications.
