Photo by Victoria Standen
A study led by researcher Akiko Takaoka and published in Animal Cognition found that dogs can easily discern whether a person is trustworthy. Experimenters pointed to where a container of food was hidden in the first round of the study (which the dogs readily ate). During the second round, the dogs were pointed toward another bowl which was found to be empty by the dogs. In the third round, experimenters pointed to a hidden, full bowl but were ignored by the dogs. When these experimenters were replaced, the dogs followed the pointing directive of the new person to the full bowl. Once a dog considers a human to be unreliable, it ignores the cues given. Dogs like predictability, and when things become inconsistent, they look for other alternatives.
Like the human-dog relationship, we may unintentionally 'train' people to trust or distrust us. Charles H. Green - author, educator and business strategy consultant - found four variables that could determine whether others find us trustworthy:
1) the credibility of our words
2) the reliability of our actions
3) the safety felt about entrusting us with something
4) our self-orientation
Surprisingly, it is the fourth benchmark that carries the greatest weight. The more we focus on ourselves and what we want, the less trustworthy we are perceived. Yet the more we focus on the other person, their needs and how we might help, the more trustworthy we are seen by them. Making the welfare of others as much a priority as our own can change the dynamics in our relationships.
For more information on trustworthiness, see this post.
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