For the orator to produce conviction three qualities are necessary… good sense, virtue, and goodwill.
– Aristotle (Rhetoric, Book II)
Nestled in Aristotle’s lecture notes on rhetoric from the 4th Century BCE, we find his little gem—the idea that we trust other people when we perceive them to have practical wisdom, solid values, and a caring disposition.
Fast forward 2300 years. Three scholars in Indiana teamed up to review over 40 years worth of scientific research on what factors contribute to trust. They published their findings in 1995, identifying three factors of trustworthiness: ability, integrity, and benevolence.
Looks like Aristotle was on to something.
In the decades since publication, these factors have continued to be validated multiple times and currently serve as the foundation of ongoing scientific studies of trust. There’s nothing magic about these three words. In their effort to consolidate the data, the researchers simply grouped the words used in each of the studies and found that they loosely fit into these three buckets. This is useful for academia, but how do we make these factors more applicable to our everyday experiences?
After digging into the research with an eye toward practical application of these ideas, I offer two suggestions:
- Use the word “Competence” instead of “Ability.” The mere ability to do something isn’t enough to instill confidence; one needs the ability to do it well. They get around this in the research by artificially enhancing the common definition of ability.
- Think of “Integrity” as a combination of “Authenticity” and “Dependability.” Everyone loves the idea of integrity, but it’s hard to define in the everyday. However, being who you say you are (authenticity) and doing what you say you will do (dependability) are concepts everyone can get their head around.
Benevolence is useful as it stands. It elegantly connotes the mindset, attitude and action required to genuinely help others.
That leaves us with four useful elements of trustworthiness:
- Authenticity
- Benevolence
- Competence
- Dependability
We’ll dive deeper into these elements next week and explore how they work together to inspire trust.
For Reflection: Of the Four Elements of Trustworthiness, which do you think is your strongest?
Update: 27,294 words
I’ve written 27,294 manuscript words out of a goal of 60,000. That puts me about 45% complete with the first draft, which is 6% more than last week.
My routines were definitely out of whack this week, forcing me to fit writing in where and when I could. Starting tomorrow I reset my routines again. In addition to manuscript work, I’m tweaking the focus of my proposal after going over it with a few close advisors and receiving some excellent feedback.
