-
6. The Societal Context
- NYU Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
| 155 6 The Societal Context Given blacks’ discrimination experiences in almost every aspect of life, one might wonder why blacks would even trust at all. But do we see that there are specific social contexts wherein blacks are more socially trusting than in others? Furthermore, do blacks interpret the race of social actors differently in certain contexts? These inquiries guide the empirical analysis of this chapter. Thus far, I have noted that much of the research on social trust finds that blacks are less socially trusting than other racial groups. To unpack how black Americans trust socially, this chapter scrutinizes blacks’ social trust with respect to (1) their generalized trust in others as people in general, or strangers (see Uslaner 2000–2001, 2001; Seligman 1997), (2) their generalized trust in people in specific social contexts—neighborhoods, shopping places, workplaces, and religious institutions (see Putnam 2000b), also referred to here as contextualized trust, and (3) their trust in specific racial groups in the aforementioned contexts. Considering the effects that racial socialization, racial discrimination, racial uncertainty, and disparate trust in racial groups seemingly have on blacks’ internalization of race, we should expect that blacks navigate their social (and political) realities differently from other racial groups. Put simply , blacks should be more distrusting in social (and political) contexts than are other racial groups, with greater wariness in their interactions with nonblacks , especially whites. To measure whether this is the case, this chapter first uses the SCBS to compare blacks’ social trust to that of other racial groups to determine whether they are, in fact, less trusting. Second, this chapter uses the SCBS to determine whether blacks trust differently in certain social contexts and to identify spaces where blacks are more or less trusting. Finally, this chapter uses race and social context experiments in the NPSS to determine whether blacks trust racial actors differently in certain contexts. Data from the race 156 | The Societal Context and social context experiments are examined further to determine the effects on blacks’ social trust of several factors: (1) black Americans’ racial socialization experiences, (2) their racial identity, and (3) their racial uncertainty. In order to study blacks’ social trust, it is important first to consider some of the complexities of examining social trust and race. Conceptualizing Social Trust: What Exactly Do We Mean? How Do We Inscribe Race? Trust reduces transaction costs in interpersonal relationships: the more one trusts, the less effort one takes in learning about another person’s background or record of performance in completing tasks. Trust also enhances the bonds between and among citizens so that they are able to relate comfortably with one another in order to produce desired social or political outcomes (Uslaner 2000–2001; Fukuyama 1995). Despite recognizing the benefits of trust for individuals and society, the general literature on trust often grapples with defining the concept of trust (Hardin 2004, 2006; Cook, Hardin, and Levi 2005; Ostrom and Walker 2003; Uslaner 2002), as it appears to assume different purposes that affect how scholars interpret its meaning in society. For one, scholars search for the central meaning of what we mean by trust and how the concept itself problematizes our understanding and measurement of trust (Lewis and Weigert 1985b; Seligman 1997; Lin 2001a, 2001b; Miller and Mitamura 2003). They also consider how people become agentic individuals in navigating their relations with others in increasingly complex environments with probabilistic risks (Luhmann 1979; Seligman 1997). Other scholars attempt to contextualize the origins of trust by considering the dynamic process of the concept as being either a natural occurrence as an outgrowth of primordial relations or as a systemically induced artifact (Lewis and Weigert 1985a; Seligman 1997). Yet other researchers consider to what extent social relations produce trust or, conversely, to what extent trust produces social relations and facilitates the organization of civil society (Lewis and Weigert 1985a, 1985b; Uslaner 2000–2001; Lin 2001a, 2001b). Some inquiries even focus on whether trust is value-oriented, manifesting society’s normative structure and variegated modes of information transmission in certain spaces (Fukuyama 1995; Seligman 1997; Uslaner 2000–2001, 2002). Additional scholarship questions the objects that are entrusted and the extent to which they are trusted—whether they are institutions, media, agents, or trust in the idea of trust itself (Lewis and Weigert 1985a; Putnam 2000b). Still others consider whether trust is measurable at all, given that our [3.89.56.228] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 01:06 GMT) The Societal Context | 157 greater interest should lie...