The Field Guide › Paper

Affect- and Cognition-Based Trust as Foundations for Interpersonal Cooperation in Organizations

McAllister · Trust & Interpersonal · Academy of Management Journal · 1995 · Paywalled

Established the foundational distinction between affect-based trust (grounded in emotional bonds, care, and concern for the other's wellbeing) and cognition-based trust (grounded in reliability, competence, and track record). Using data from 194 managers and professionals, McAllister showed these are empirically distinct constructs with different antecedents and different implications for cooperative behaviour. The distinction is directly load-bearing for psychological safety: PS is closer to affect-based trust in its relational texture, but cognition-based trust in a manager's competence and reliability creates the structural conditions within which affective safety can develop. The paper is also the source of the two-dimensional trust model that the psychsafety.com trust article draws on.

Connected concepts (14)

• Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams (paper)
• An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust (paper)
• Calculus of Voice
• PS & Trust
• What is PS?
• Leadership Behavior and Employee Voice: Is the Door Really Open? (paper)
• Managing the Risk of Learning: Psychological Safety in Work Teams (paper)
• Not So Different After All: A Cross-Discipline View of Trust (paper)
• A Question of Trust (paper)
• Cognition-Based and Affect-Based Trust as Mediators of Leader Behavior Influences on Team Performance (paper)
• Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work Relationships (paper)
• The OK Corral: The Grid for Get-on-With (paper)
• The Role of Trust in Organizational Settings (paper)
• Barriers to PS