Become a Trusting Person

"In personality psychology, trust is understood as a facet of agreeableness, the Big Five personality trait that describes how we tend to relate to other people. Specifically, trust reflects how willing someone is to assume good intent, share information, and rely on others. What many people don't realize is that trust, like other personality traits, is malleable. Not only that, you can take a proactive role in becoming more trusting."

"Your capacity for trust typically develops from past experiences that shape your default pattern of beliefs and behavior (i.e., your personality) when it comes to other people. Experiences like being punished for mistakes, criticised for expressing your feelings, or growing up in a situation where your needs were inconsistently met, have a powerful impact on what you expect from other people."

"Difficulties with trust can also develop in adulthood, especially if you've been in workplaces or partnerships where minor missteps carried outsized consequences. For example, after a partner's infidelity, it may become difficult to fully believe their explanations about where they are or what they've been doing. In these contexts, patterns like anticipating risk, scanning for errors, double-checking everything, or feeling responsible for catching problems before they happen can feel protective. They reduce the chance of being blamed, rejected, or hurt."

Trust functions as a facet of agreeableness that reflects willingness to assume good intent, share information, and rely on others. Trust patterns develop from past experiences that shape default beliefs and behaviors, including punishment for mistakes, criticism for emotional expression, or inconsistent caregiving. Trust difficulties can also emerge in adulthood after experiences such as workplace penalties or a partner's infidelity. Protective behaviors like anticipating risk, scanning for errors, monitoring others, and double-checking can reduce harm but may persist after the original threat subsides. Trust is malleable and can increase through small, intentional behavioral experiments in safe situations.

Read at Psychology Today