What Makes a Person Trustworthy? Science May Provide Some Clues

Researchers have long puzzled over how to determine if someone is trustworthy. Find out how their work can provide helpful hints to the rest of us.

By Sean Mowbray
Aug 24, 2023 3:00 PMAug 24, 2023 4:08 PM
Two people on a cliff showing trustworthy behavior
(Credit: U__Photo/Shutterstock)

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Knowing who to trust is part and parcel of everyday life. Instinctively we may trust one person but not fully understand why. Researchers have puzzled over this question for decades, trying to piece together what makes a person trustworthy or not.

“Trustworthiness is essentially being a prosocial person,” says Sebastian Siuda, a psychologist who researches the dynamics of trust. “If somebody opens up to you and makes [themselves] vulnerable to you, you don’t use that act for your own good, but you repay that vulnerability.”

How Scientists Evaluate and Define Trustworthiness

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