Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students
Trustworthiness includes at least two dimensions: one dimension captures the authority’s benevolence; the other captures authority’s competence. This qualitative study explores the representation of the two dimensions of authority trustworthiness: competence and benevolence. We collected free-associ...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/10/9/143 |
| _version_ | 1797553062989004800 |
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| author | Silvia Di Battista Monica Pivetti Chiara Berti |
| author_facet | Silvia Di Battista Monica Pivetti Chiara Berti |
| author_sort | Silvia Di Battista |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Trustworthiness includes at least two dimensions: one dimension captures the authority’s benevolence; the other captures authority’s competence. This qualitative study explores the representation of the two dimensions of authority trustworthiness: competence and benevolence. We collected free-associations about what lecturers’ competence and benevolence actually mean for Italian psychology students (<i>n</i> = 125). The data corpus was content-analyzed. Text units were categorized according to meaning using both a bottom-up strategy, with some categories stemming from the data (inductive reasoning), and a top-down strategy, with some categories following from the analysis of the relevant literature (deductive reasoning). Qualitative content analysis showed that these two dimensions overlapped. Students listed theoretically-defined competence characteristics as indications of both benevolence and competence. The same applied to benevolence. Overall, associations were grouped into two main dimensions: (1) the “can-do” dimension, describing a lecturer’s competence and social skill; (2) the “will-do” dimension, describing a lecturer’s good intentions, integrity, and personal motivation. In conclusion, the two conceptually distinct dimensions of trust are indistinguishable in the students’ words. These preliminary results are in line with scholars debating the multifactorial or mono-factorial nature of trust. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:10:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cca2a354b93b4753935f19d29ede0f60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:10:03Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cca2a354b93b4753935f19d29ede0f602023-11-20T14:33:51ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2020-09-0110914310.3390/bs10090143Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian StudentsSilvia Di Battista0Monica Pivetti1Chiara Berti2Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, The University of Chieti-Pescara, via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Human and Social Sciences, The University of Bergamo, 24100 Bergamo, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, The University of Chieti-Pescara, via dei Vestini 31, 66100 Chieti, ItalyTrustworthiness includes at least two dimensions: one dimension captures the authority’s benevolence; the other captures authority’s competence. This qualitative study explores the representation of the two dimensions of authority trustworthiness: competence and benevolence. We collected free-associations about what lecturers’ competence and benevolence actually mean for Italian psychology students (<i>n</i> = 125). The data corpus was content-analyzed. Text units were categorized according to meaning using both a bottom-up strategy, with some categories stemming from the data (inductive reasoning), and a top-down strategy, with some categories following from the analysis of the relevant literature (deductive reasoning). Qualitative content analysis showed that these two dimensions overlapped. Students listed theoretically-defined competence characteristics as indications of both benevolence and competence. The same applied to benevolence. Overall, associations were grouped into two main dimensions: (1) the “can-do” dimension, describing a lecturer’s competence and social skill; (2) the “will-do” dimension, describing a lecturer’s good intentions, integrity, and personal motivation. In conclusion, the two conceptually distinct dimensions of trust are indistinguishable in the students’ words. These preliminary results are in line with scholars debating the multifactorial or mono-factorial nature of trust.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/10/9/143authority trustworthinesstrustcompetencebenevolencehigher educationqualitative methods |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Di Battista Monica Pivetti Chiara Berti Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students Behavioral Sciences authority trustworthiness trust competence benevolence higher education qualitative methods |
| title | Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students |
| title_full | Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students |
| title_fullStr | Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students |
| title_full_unstemmed | Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students |
| title_short | Competence and Benevolence as Dimensions of Trust: Lecturers’ Trustworthiness in the Words of Italian Students |
| title_sort | competence and benevolence as dimensions of trust lecturers trustworthiness in the words of italian students |
| topic | authority trustworthiness trust competence benevolence higher education qualitative methods |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/10/9/143 |
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