7 - Adapting the Definition of Trust to Different Situations

Summary

So far, the authors have presented a maximally comprehensive definition of ‘trust’, i.e. a definition based on the full pattern. Such a definition is very narrow and arguably of limited use in everyday practice. However, through the pattern-based approach we are at liberty to use a less selective definition that covers only a number of the features of the pattern of trust depending on the situation. Thereby, one obtains a spectrum of definitions of ‘trust’, ranging from the basic definition based on the lowest common denominator of ‘trust’, ‘confidence’, and ‘reliance’, to the maximally comprehensive (i.e. very narrow) definition of ‘trust’. Whereas pattern-based definitions may not offer unequivocal definitions as necessary conditions-based definitions do, in compensation, they are much more flexible and can be adapted to different situations and different needs.