To Trust or Not To Trust

Posted on February 27th, 2008 by Justine and currently 12 commenting.

Have you ever wondered what makes one person trust another person?

Humans are fundamentally social creatures ” we’re wired to be that way. It’s adaptive to be that way. None of us can thrive alone. But we can thrive, and have for the past 3.5 million years, through community. Central to this dynamic is the mysterious force we call trust. Without trust we cannot function… at least not well. In fact, interpersonal trust turns out to be one of the strongest predictors of the wealth or poverty of nations that economists have ever found. And we’ve all experienced the benefit of having a close group of trusted friends we can turn to for support when feeling down.

Given the sheer number of strange environments and strange people we have to navigate throughout our life, it stands to reason that we would have evolved a way to signal that a situation or other person is trustworthy. But until recently, we didn’t have a clue as to what that signal was. Some fascinating research from Paul Zak, a neuroeconomist from Claremont Graduate University, has finally unveiled the culprit ” an ancient hormone called oxytocin. (http://www.neuroscene.com/index.php?post_id=240163).

If you have recently had children, you probably recognize the name oxytocin. It’s the hormone that contracts the uterus during birth and is released during breastfeeding, that most primitive of social bonding activities. It’s also released when you hug your dog ” our most trustworthy companion. And Paul has now shown it’s released when someone trusts you enough to give you money. He’s also shown that people who inhale oxytocin through a nasal spray are twice as likely to invest money as people who inhale a placebo.

Now I’m not suggesting we start using oxytocin sprays to sell products. But it does seem like a wise marketing tactic to seek out those situations where this biological cupid, if you will, makes his appearance naturally. When people are with others they trust, a cascade of physiological and behavioral changes is involuntarily triggered. Stress hormones go down…anxiety is reduced…people relax… social interaction and cooperation are facilitated…and productivity increases.

In other words, trust is a physiological key to the hearts and minds of customers. So maybe instead of shouting at people to try and get through, we should try the subtler approach. And reach them where the doors are already open.

• Tweet
• RSS
• EMAIL
• more
  

  BlinklistBloglinesBlogmarksDiggdel.icio.usFurlMa.gnoliaNewsVineRedditStumbleUponTechnorati