Determining whom to trust and whom to distrust is
a major decision in impersonal IT-enabled exchanges. Despite the
potential role of both trust and distrust in impersonal exchanges,
the information systems literature has primarily focused on trust,
alas paying relatively little attention to distrust. Given the
importance of studying both trust and distrust, this study aims to
shed light on the nature, dimensionality, distinction, and
relationship, and relative effects of trust and distrust on economic
outcomes in the context of impersonal IT-enabled exchanges between
buyers and sellers in online marketplaces.
This study uses functional neuroimaging (fMRI)
tools to complement psychometric measures of trust and distrust by
observing the location, timing, and level of brain activity that
underlies trust and distrust and their underlying dimensions. The
neural correlates of trust and distrust are identified when subjects
interact with four experimentally manipulated seller profiles that
differ on their level of trust and distrust. The results show that
trust and distrust activate different brain areas and have different
effects, helping explain why trust and distrust are distinct
constructs associated with different neurological processes.
Implications for the nature, distinction and relationship,
dimensionality, and effects of trust and distrust are discussed.
Keywords: Trust, distrust, credibility, benevolence,
discredibility, malevolence, price premiums, functional neuroimaging,
fMRI, cognitive neuroscience