SPONTANEITY AND TRUST

Abstract

Spontaneity is characterized as unplanned action without premeditation; it suggests that a response is immediate and not based on conscious reflection. Our study aims to identify the role of spontaneity in building trust. Hence, understand how the recipients view of an action is affected not only by the outcome of the action but the level of spontaneity involved in the decision as well. The studies conducted attempted to take the perspective of the recipient of spontaneous and deliberate actions of the same outcome to see how it affected their perception and reciprocity of the action. In Study 1, we focused on a favour exchange scenario study where it was established that recipients reciprocate more with spontaneous positive acts than delayed positive acts. In addition, the study showed that participants of this study had a more positive impression on the person when they had a spontaneous positive response to the favour request. Study 2, was a laboratory experiment in the form of a modified trust game that focused specifically on spontaneous trust. The finding from Study 2 suggests that spontaneous trust leads to greater reciprocity and that the recipient’s perceived intention of the trustor mediated this relationship between spontaneity and reciprocity.