Trust, trustworthiness, and relationships: ontological reflections on public trust in science

There is much social scientific research dedicated to measuring and studying public trust. I examine the ways in which the notion of trust is implicitly conceptualised in such studies. I argue that there is a common ontological foundation in most research on the topic: trust is viewed as a phenomenon that is an attribute of individuals, intrapsychic, directed toward specific targets, and that is quantitative and measurable. I criticise this conceptualisation of trust and argue that it: (1) fails to consider the trustworthiness of individuals and institutions, (2) fails to recognise trust as a relational phenomenon and overlooks historical and material conditions that characterise relationships between people and institutions, and (3) lends itself to bureaucratic manipulation of publics rather than fostering authentic relationships of trust. I conclude that studies on trust need to be situated in larger frameworks that attend to the trustworthiness of actors and to relationships between them.