Tribal Trust
Social trust is being redefined, Pew says—and more powerfully than you may think.
Socially, Americans are being influenced by growing differences in gender, race, education and age. Pew Research says in a new report that we’re also becoming more tribal, so distrust of others is, in some ways, stabilizing—despite new shocks to the system.
CHICAGO—In a country born by breaking with a king, some say we inherit distrust and dissent as a birthright. Yet today, our sense of shared purpose as diverse Americans has, in some ways, been cast into the shredder of profit and power.
Amid today’s brawls over diversity—including President Trump’s assaults again this week on Blue state cities, including this one—new data by Pew Research says our nation’s trust crisis is morphing, quickly.
What’s up?
“In today’s climate, people now want to find sameness more than ever,” says Neha Sahgal, vice president of research at Pew. “Sameness, to be around the same kind of people, drives trust today,” she told attendees of the Aspen Institute’s first-ever Trust in Practice Summit held here recently for more than 200 emerging leaders and trust-building consultants, educators and local government representatives.
On one hand, the trust gaps between us remain strong, she said. On the other, finding sameness bolsters trust, partly due to belonging, and helps to limit a further decline, Sahgal says.
And there’s another plus, she adds.
Today, 14.8% of Americans are new immigrants. But go back to 1890, when 14.3% of Americans were new immigrants. “We’ve been here before,” Sahgal says. “The difference today is that sameness, being around people similar to you, is now in demand by people not only just arriving in this country, but also now by people born here as citizens and living here for generations.”
Americans, as they become more political, are becoming more tribal, she added, “so we must make an intentional effort to find sameness in values, too, across today’s boundaries. It’s the American experiment.”
The Trust Data
How tribal are we now, regardless?
Here are some highlights of Pew’s survey, Americans’ Trust in One Another, as presented to conference attendees by Sahgal and Laura Silver, associate director of global attitudes research for Pew. Pew surveyed 37,000 Americans, asking them whether they trust other Americans.
Why does social trust matter?
“Trust is the oil that lubricates the frictions of daily life,” Silver said. “Trust makes it easier for people to work together to solve problems. It is beneficial for the economy because it’s related to confidence that other people will respect contracts, repay loans and behave honestly. And higher trust is associated with better-functioning democratic institutions.”
Some poll results were not surprising. More “have’s” in income and education said they trust other Americans more than did the “have-nots.”
But it also goes further than that. There were also key age, gender, and geographical differences in how much respondents said they could trust other Americans. One’s politics and where they live, geographically, also make a difference:
Here are some of those breakouts:
Age. Social trust is rooted in one’s experience. Only 26% of young Americans, those aged 18-29, said most people can be trusted, compared to 44% of senior citizens aged 65-plus;
Gender. Men (37%) are more trusting of other Americans than women (32%);
Race. Racial discrimination influences a decline in trust. Blacks (21%) said most people can’t be trusted, compared to 23% of Hispanics, 38% of Asian Americans and 40% of Whites;
Education. People less educated tend to have less trust in others. Post-graduates (52%) say most people can be trusted, compared with 44% of those who have a Bachelor’s degree, 31% of those who have had some college and 24% of those who graduated only from high school.
Income. Those earning more money trust others more. Only 25% of those who make less than $50K say most people can be trusted compared to 35% of those who make between $50-$100K, and 46% of those who make more than $100K.
“What’s interesting is that those with less trust have part of their brain in fight-or-flight mode all the time,” Sahgal says. “Trust, on the other hand, has a variety of personal benefits. People who trust others tend to be happier with their lives. They’re more satisfied with their family life and even report better health.”
Place Matters, too
Where is trust highest?
Globally, America is not totally unique. One big difference, though, is that while some levels of trust have dropped and now remain somewhat stable in the U.S., there is evidence that levels of trust may be rising in other high-income countries. According to the World Values Survey, trust has increased around 10 points or more over the past two decades in Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Singapore and the U.K. The European Social Survey also finds that some European publics are becoming more trusting.
Within the United States, trust can differ by state, city and neighborhood.
According to the Pew Trust survey, these three states have the highest levels of trust: New Hampshire, Oregon and Utah. Close to half of adults in these states say “most people can be trusted.” But in some other states – like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia – the share of people who say “most people can be trusted” is about half of that in the highest trusting states. These “lower trusting” states have fewer college graduates and lower household incomes, both of which are associated with lower levels of trust.
The Pew survey also shows in-state trust levels also can vary dramatically from city to city. In California, Silver said, 35% of its residents (about the national average) say most people can be trusted, but San Franciscans are nearly twice as likely than people in Riverside to feel so trustful (46% vs. 24%).
The San Francisco metropolitan area, which encompasses both Oakland and Berkeley, is one of the most highly educated places in the U.S., with more than half of adults aged 25 and older holding at least a bachelor’s degree. In Riverside, on the other hand, only 25% of residents are college graduates.
Do your neighbors trust you?
While the level of trust within a community may be predicted largely by the wealth, education and other characteristics of the people who live there, that’s only part of the story in neighborhoods.
Even after controlling for demographic differences, neighborhoods also seem to matter. People who live in an area where more people are college educated tend to have higher levels of trust, regardless of their own level of education. (For more about the impact of neighborhoods, click here, on the “Geography” section.)
How much do we trust our neighbors? According to Pew, which asked nearly 9,500 American aduilts whether they know and trust the people in their neighborhood, the answer often had to do with race and ethnicity, age, income, education and, to a lesser degree, political views.
According to the survey, 44% of respondents trusted most or all of their neighbors, a decline from previous years. But when it came to acting like a good neighbor, the majority of respondents said they would very likely perform neighborly tasks, even when there would be no expectation of reciprocity. According to the survey, 76% said they would be “extremely likely” or “very likely” willing to bring in mail or water the plants for out-of-town neighbors. And in the case of a sick friend or neighbor, 67% said they would be “extremely likely” or “very likely” to show up with a meal in hand.
“People imagine the best of themselves but generally have less charitable assumptions about other people,” Silver told Trust conference attendees.
New Rules to Build Trust
Trust Summit leaders said building trust is both urgent and possible. Through deliberate collaboration, consistent action and a shared vision, groups can build and strengthen the social fabric of their communities, Silver said.
Key conference take-aways for trust-builders attending included these:
Trust starts locally. Small, meaningful acts, like introducing yourself to a neighbor or offering help in a moment of need—can be the building blocks of trust;
Cross-sector partnerships are essential. Lasting change requires collaboration across institutions, sectors and geographies. When we connect across boundaries, we create strong, more resilient networks for trust-building, Silver said.
Trust takes time. This work doesn’t move fast. It requires deep presence, patience and a commitment to the long haul.
Trust gets built by doing things together. Agreements are good, but shared actions and collaborative efforts are better. Trust grows strongest when people work together toward a common goal, Silver says.
Other tips for trust-builders included these:
Start with amplifying what’s already working in communities rather than only focusing on what’s broken;
Make listening non-negotiable;
Make meetings with others a space to form a collective identity as trust-builders with a shared purpose, “to remind others that trust-building is not just a task, it’s a role and responsibility that we carry,” said Sahgal.
“We must make an effort to find sameness beyond long-held indicators of difference. In some ways, this is a newer challenge for this country, which is diversifying in ways we haven’t experienced before. But it’s doable, and when done well, trust has already started to tick upwards in some places.“
Are you observing some of these same trends in your neighborhood, city or state? Let us know. And for more insights from this Pew trust survey, click here, and thanks—as always—for reading!
NOTE: This post was updated 8-21 to include global comparisons.
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Great read, Marcia. Thank you! Do you have comparative stats from other countries?