Interpersonal Trust Scale (ITS, Rotter)
Psychology: Social & RelationshipsReliability: alpha 0.753 sample items
About this scale
A 25-item measure of generalized expectancy of trust toward others. Foundational interpersonal-trust measure.
Sample item(s)
“Most people can be counted on to do what they say they will do”
“Hypocrisy is on the increase in our society (reverse)”
“Most repairmen will not overcharge people who are ignorant of their specialty”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.75. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Foundational measure; modern researchers often prefer Mayer/Davis ABI.
Source & citation
Rotter, J. B. (1967): A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 651–665.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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