It Isn’t Always Mutual

Abstract

Scholars have called for examinations of trust at the dyadic level, but only recently have we begun to see trust examined as a dyadic phenomenon from multiple perspectives. This review examines three approaches to understanding dyadic trust: reciprocal trust, wherein one party’s trust influences the other party’s trust; mutual trust, wherein both parties share a given level of trust that has important consequences for the dyad; and asymmetric trust, wherein each party has a different level of trust, and this disparity has consequences for the dyad. We provide a critical analysis of the empirical research addressing these three approaches and suggest future research directions to provide a more comprehensive view of dyadic trust.