trust...

the willing acceptance of one's power to affect another


coleman's four part definition of trust

placement of trust allows actions that otherwise are not possible

if the person in whom trust is placed (trustee) is trustworthy, then the trustor will be better off than if he or she had not trusted. conversely, if the trustee is not trustworthy, then the trustor will be worse off than if he or she has not trusted

trust is an action that involves voluntary placement of resources (physical, financial, intellectual, or temporal) at the disposal of the trustee with no real commitment from the trustee

a time lag exists between the extension of trust and the result of the trusting behaviour


start off a relationship with the assumption that the other person is trustworthy. be careful to protect yourself but give him or her the benefit of the doubt