Experience matters, after all: What social psychology can teach us about transnational contact and trust

Supplemental Material: Additional Supplementary Information may be found with the online version of this article. Online Appendix 1: Variables and Codes. Online Appendix 2: Stata Codes (ver. 17). Online Appendix 3: Additional Analyses. Table A1: Ordinal Models of Trust in Germans. Table A2: Ordinal Models of Trust in Czechs. Table A3: Ordinal Models of Trust in Ukrainians. Table A4: Ordinal Models of Trust in Lithuanians. Table A5: Logistic Models of Trust in Germans. Table A6: Logistic Models of Trust in Czechs. Table A7: Logistic Models of Trust in Ukrainians. Table A8: Logistic Models of Trust in Lithuanians. Table A9: Linear Regressions of Social Proximity with Germans. Table A10: Linear Regressions of Social Proximity with Czechs. Table A11: Linear Regressions of Social Proximity with Ukrainians. Table A12: Linear Regressions of Social Proximity with Lithuanians. Online Appendix 4: Stata (ver. 17) Codes for Additional AnalysesThere has been much debate about the causes of trust in abstract groups of strangers such as foreign nations. Some scholars have highlighted the important role of personal experiences in shaping social trust, while others have largely dismissed such experiences. This paper suggests that social psychological contact theory, which highlights one particular type of experience, has much to contribute to trust research: accordingly, people’s contact experiences with strangers lead them to generalise from these experiences and undergo a process of social learning. Using original survey data from Poland, this paper shows that, consistent with contact theory, pleasant contact experiences with members of specific other nations increase trust in those nations, while unpleasant contact experiences decrease it. The characteristics of different objects of trust do not fundamentally challenge the universalist logic of contact theory. Ultimately, this supports the position that personal experience in adult life matters greatly in shaping trust.Funding declaration: This work was supported by the British Academy (grant no. SG152031)