Interpersonal trust as a factor in communication.

Abstract

A written questionnaire given to individuals in a large government research laboratory, inquired about attitudes about changes in a research program, attitudes of trust toward each other, reports as to whether they had discussed the new program, and estimates of each other''s attitudes about the program. The data support the hypothesis that "a communicator, B, who lacks trust in the recipient of his communication, A, tends to be motivated to conceal his own attitudes about an issue, X, in communicating with A. The accuracy of A''s perceptions is impaired accordingly.".