Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1996

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Warren H. Jones

Committee Members

John Lounsbury, Mike Johnson, Sky Huck

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated the undeniable link between trust and betrayal. The present research assessed the ways in which cognitive certainty is associated with perceptions of negative relational information, especially betrayal. First, results from studies 1 and 2 supported the hypothesis that betrayal is a construct that is perceived with graded structure, meaning that events belong to the betrayal category to a greater or lesser extent. In other words, there is some degree of certainty associated with the categorization of examples, and it tends to be related to perceptions of seriousness/threat to the relationship. Dispositional trust was also related to categorization, but not in ways which would be consistent with the Appraisal Process Model of trust proposed by Holmes and Rempel (1989; Holmes, 1991). This model also assumes certainty is related to perceptions of relational information. In particular, based on the model it was hypothesized that individuals of varying levels of dispositional trust would perceive relational information differently. Evidence from studies 2 and 3 does not support the patterns expected based on the model, but differences were observed in the future beliefs of individuals with varying levels of trust that suggest cognitive certainty at some level is being experienced. However, this certainty seems to be related to expectations for the future of a given relationship rather than appearing in the appraisal process. Further research is suggested to more fully assess the role of cognitive certainty in trust and betrayal, the utility of the Appraisal Process Model of trust, and theoretical improvements and applications for the patterns of responding which were observed.

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