Interpersonal and Procedural Trust
“The Trust model
identifies two broad types of trust that parties are always relying on:
interpersonal trust and procedural trust” (Furlong, 2005, p. 142).
First, interpersonal
trust is based on an individual’s judgement of another’s character, honesty,
morality, and beliefs. This set of
feelings “defines how comfortable we are taking a given level of risk with a
specific person. It answers the
question, ‘How much do I trust this individual?’” (Furlong, 2005, p. 142). This form of trust is difficult to achieve
and is created over time, experiences, interactions, and perhaps most
importantly, willingness. It is
significant due to the fact that it is the strongest form of trust, therefore
parties tend to assume the other person’s motives are genuine and parties
anticipate success throughout the relationship which is often times based on
perceived commonalities. Interpersonal
trust may benefit conflict resolution due to the fact that it encourages
parties to focus on common interests and solutions, while nullifying hostility
and discrimination. More than likely the
parties admire one another and / or have mutual respect, as well as open
communication. Since the parties already
possess a positive rapport with one another they may be able to negotiate the
ordeal without a mediator of third party involvement. Typically this will result in the parties
seeking a favorable outcome in a timely manner, at the least expense to either
side. Even if litigation is sought,
settlement may be desired rather than an ongoing process. However, from a negative aspect,
interpersonal trust is easy to lose.
Therefore, a dispute may be the cause of the interpersonal trust lost
within a relationship.
Second, procedural
trust is defined as “the trust we place in a structure or process we are
involved in, as opposed to the individual” (Furlong, 2005, p. 143). This form of trust allows the individual to
place their trust in the process, with little to no regard of the individuals
involved. “Procedural trust processes
can be collaboratively built and agreed by the parties themselves…it is a set
of steps or structures that are tangible and defined” (Furlong, 2005, p. 144),
and thus not a matter of will. This encourages
practitioners to focus on procedural trust within dispute resolution
procedures. Due to the conflict, both
parties may distrust each other, however if they believe in the process (i.e.
mediation), they may achieve a favorable resolve (Furlong, 2005). Employing this method in systems such as government,
justice, and education afford opposing parties with a lack of interpersonal
trust to utilize procedural trust to resolve their differences with the
assistance of alternative dispute resolution processes.
References:
Furlong, G.T. (2005). The Conflict
Resolution Toolbox. Ontario,
Canada: John
Wiley &
Sons
Canada, Ltd.
