While Trust is Inherited, Distrust is Not: Study

Research has shown that how trusting a person is may depend, at least in part, on his or her genes. However, distrust does not appear to be inherited in the same way, according to a new study led by the University of Arizona.

The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, explores distrust as a separate and distinct quality from trust.

"This research supports the idea that distrust is not merely the opposite of trust," said Martin Reimann, assistant professor of marketing in the UA's Eller College of Management and lead author of the study.

"Both trust and distrust are strongly influenced by the individual's unique environment, but what's interesting is that trust seems to be significantly influenced by genetics, while distrust is not. Distrust appears to be primarily socialized," Reimann said.

Read the full article at Phys.org.