Can Treating Oneself Kindly Inspire Trust? The Role of Interpersonal Responsibility

Abstract

Self-compassion, as a personal psychological resource, has been proved to play an important role in coping with suffering. Based on self-determination theory, the present study attempts to establish that self-compassion can promote trust, and the sense of interpersonal responsibility mediates this relationship. Study 1 used cross-sectional data in a community sample of 322 adults to reveal that self-compassion was positively related to trust, and the mediating effects of the sense of interpersonal responsibility were significant. Study 2 used the latent cross-lagged panel model among 1304 college students at three-time points set at six-month intervals to replicate the results and proved the longitudinal mediating effects across groups. Finally, a casual chain design was used to test the mediation effect in Studies 3 and 4. The results indicated that self-compassion induced by writing task resulted in a sense of responsibility in Study 3 (N = 145), and the manipulated sense of responsibility promoted both trust behaviors and beliefs in Study 4 (N = 125). Through four studies, this study highlights a novel but unexpected viewpoint that treating oneself in a self-compassionate way can not only help individuals cope with various challenges but also motivate them to obtain interpersonal benefits. These findings can help motivate community workers and mental health researchers to increase social capital by focusing on self-compassion and interpersonal responsibility.

Keywords:

• Self-compassion
• trust
• interpersonal responsibility
• community

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions

Minxiang Zhao: Conceptualization (lead); methodology (lead); investigation (equal); writing – original draft (lead); formal analysis (lead); Yuchuan Yang: Formal analysis (equal); investigation (equal); Lirong Hao: Investigation (supporting); methodology (supporting); Yixuan Li: Investigation (supporting); Yuan Fang: Investigation (equal); writing – review and editing (equal); Yan Dong*: Project Administration (lead); investigation (lead); writing – review and editing (lead); conceptualization (equal); Lingxia Xia*: Investigation (lead); conceptualization (supporting); formal analysis (equal).

Data Availability Statement

The data of Study 1 have not been made available on a permanent third-party archive because the complete database involved in the research cannot be made public without the permission of the collaborators. We still simply list the variables used and some unused items in the Codebook of Study 1. The deidentified data of Studies 2, 3, 4, and analysis codes of all studies that support the findings of this study are openly available on the Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/mazrx/?view_only=f2a70b6818c5425882d69626a3055797.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China under Grant [number 19BSH130].

Notes on contributors

Minxiang Zhao

Minxiang Zhao, Ph.D. candidate, studying in the Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China. His research interests include social cognition (e.g., social trust, prosocial behavior, self-concept) and health behavior.

Yuchuan Yang

Yuchuan Yang, Ph.D. candidate, studying in the Department of Psychology at Renmin University of China. Her major research interests include interpersonal trust/distrust and mental health. Her current research focuses on the relationship between interpersonal distrust and relational aggression and its underlying mechanisms.

Lirong Hao

Lirong Hao, is a current Masters student in the Department of Psychology at Renmin University of China and her main research focus is on mental health, well-being and community psychology.

Yixuan Li

Yixuan Li, is a Master’s graduate from the Department of Psychology at Renmin University of China, focusing on social comparison and intergroup trust.

Yuan Fang

Yuan Fang, Ph. D.. She is currently focusing on some research in mental health and interpersonal relationships.

Yan Dong

Yan Dong, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China. Her current research focuses on social cognition, well-being, developmental and educational psychology.

Lingxiang Xia

Linxiang Xia, Ph.D., is a Professor in Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University in China. He is mainly engaged in research on personality and social psychology, focusing on topics such as violence, aggression, hostility, moral psychology, motivation.