Practical trust

Abstract

We begin our article by placing various forms of trust distinguished by the literature along a continuum according to the truster’s practical orientation toward the possibility of things not going as expected. We then present the ethnomethodological respecification of trust as an observable phenomenon of order involving continuous practical work, in situ and in real time. Conversation analysis provides tools for capturing how trust is accomplished as interlocutors rely on ordinary orders of practice to organize talk-in-interaction. Built on these bases, the term ‘practical trust’ points to the strong link between trust, the organization of courses of action and the production of their accountability. In conclusion, we suggest undertaking empirical research to identify the practices that make trust a specific phenomenon of interactional order.