Is the Effect of Trust on Risk Perceptions a Matter of Knowledge, Control, and Time? An Extension and Direct-Replication Attempt of Siegrist and Cvetkovich (2000)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21209441 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shiva Pauer (0000-0001-5965-8040, Helmut Schmidt University, corresponding author), Bastiaan T Rutjens (0000-0003-3163-4156, University of Amsterdam), Carmen Brick (0000-0002-7174-8193, University of Inland Norway), Cameron Brick (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Aaron B Lob (0000-0003-0459-7986, University of Zurich), Benjamin Buttlar (0000-0003-2660-9204, Universität Trier), Marret K Noordewier (0000-0001-9084-2882, Leiden University), Iris K Schneider (0000-0003-0915-0809, Technische Universität Dresden), Frenk Van Harreveld (0000-0003-3717-2773, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1008-1023 |
| Publication date | 2024-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Psychological and Personality Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1948-5506 • E-ISSN: 1948-5514 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/19485506241263884 |
| OpenAlex | W4401192864 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 82 |
The complexity of societal risks such as pandemics, artificial intelligence, and climate change may lead laypeople to rely on experts and authorities when evaluating these threats. While Siegrist and Cvetkovich showed that competence-based trust in authorities correlates with perceived societal risks and benefits only when people feel unknowledgeable, recent research has yielded mixed support for this foundational work. To address this discrepancy, we conducted a direct-replication study (preregistered; 1,070 participants, 33 risks, 35,310 observations). The results contradict the original findings. However, additional non-preregistered analyses indicate an alternative perspective aligning with compensatory control theory and the description-experience framework: experiences with insufficient personal control over a threat may amplify individuals’ dependency on powerful others for risk mitigation. These findings highlight the need to reevaluate how trust shapes risk perceptions. Recent societal and technological shifts might have heightened the desire for control compared to subjective knowledge in why people resort to trust
Audit risk · Business · Perception · Risk perception · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · Risk Perception and Management · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Accounting
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Risk and Recreancy
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |