Interpersonal Trust and Voluntary Associations: Examining Three Approaches Article in British Journal of Sociology · October 2002

Interpersonal trust and voluntary associations: examining three approaches The relationship between interpersonal trust and membership in voluntary associations is a persistent research nding in sociology. What is more, the notion of trust has become a central issue in current social science theorizing covering such diverse approaches as transaction costs economics or cognitive sociology. In different ways and for different purposes, these approaches address the role of voluntary organizations, although, as this paper argues, much of this thinking remains sketchy and underdeveloped. Against an empirical portrait of this relationship, the purpose of this paper is to assess such theorizing. We rst set out to explicate major approaches to trust in economics, sociology and political science, using the non-pro t or voluntary organization as a focal point. We then examine the various approaches in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, and, nally, identify key areas for theoretical development. In particular, we point to the social movement literature, the social psychology of trust, and recent thinking about civil society