Part of why Koreans distrust politicians and the courts is that they expect as much as they expect of their own parents, or more — and the tendency to see society as a family (family expansionism) raises that bar.
Can High Trust Expectation Cause Low Trust? The Roles of Trust Criteria and Family Expansionism
저신뢰 사회를 만드는 고신뢰 기대? 가족확장성과 신뢰기준의 역할
QUESTION
Could Korea's low-trust reputation partly come from Koreans' own high standards for trust, and what role does family expansionism play in shaping those standards?
FINDINGS
The standard Koreans set for trusting politicians was higher than the standard they set for trusting their own parents.
정치인에대한신뢰기준은부모에대한신뢰기준보다더높았고Trust criteria for politicians were higher than trust criteria for parents.p1The higher someone's standards for politicians and the judiciary compared with their parents, the less they actually trusted them.
부모에대한신뢰기준에비해정치인이나사법부에대한신뢰의기준이상대적으로높을수록,실제그들에대한신뢰정도도낮은것으로나타났다The relatively higher the criteria for trusting politicians or the judiciary compared with the criteria for parents, the lower the actual trust in them.p1People with a stronger tendency to see society as a family (family expansionism) held the judiciary and politicians to higher standards than their parents — and distrusted them more.
가족확장성이높을수록부모에비해사법부/정치인에대한더높은신뢰기준을가지고있었으며, 이들에대한불신또한높았다The higher the family expansionism, the higher the trust criteria for the judiciary/politicians relative to parents, and the higher the distrust of them.p1When family expansionism was activated in an experiment, trust standards went up.
가족확장성을활성화시켰을때신뢰의기준이높아지는결과를확인하였다We confirmed that activating family expansionism raised the criteria for trust.p1IN DAILY LIFE
In Korea, work is often done on the basis of verbal promises or a vague "I'll take full responsibility," rather than careful review of contracts and terms — practices the authors say would be hard without basic trust.
계약서나약관들에대한철저한검토보다는구두약속이나모호한무한책임을근거로한업무처리가흔하다Rather than a thorough review of contracts and terms, handling work based on verbal promises or vague unlimited responsibility is common.p2이러한일상의행위들은기본적인신뢰를바탕으로하지않고는일어나기힘든것들이다Such everyday practices are hard to carry out without a foundation of basic trust.p2The belief that "when citizens die in a disaster, the national leader should feel the same pain as a parent losing a child" — one of the items measuring family expansionism.
재난으로인하여국민들이숨졌을때,국가의지도자는부모가자식을잃는것과같은아픔을느껴야한다When citizens die because of a disaster, the national leader should feel the same pain as a parent losing a child.p8In depth
This paper, more closely — every sentence carries an original quote and page number.
Background
According to an OECD report, only about 34% of Koreans said they trust the government; Korea is commonly rated a low-trust society.
한국정부에대해’신뢰한다‘라고응답한국민의비율은약34%The proportion of citizens who answered that they 'trust' the Korean government was about 34%.p2최근경제협력개발기구(OECD)가발간한보고서According to a report recently published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)…p2결국이러한조사들에근거해서한국사회는일반적으로저(低)신뢰사회로평가되고있다Ultimately, based on such surveys, Korean society is generally assessed as a low-trust society.p2Koreans, who tend to see the nation, society, and companies as one big family, may demand family-like high trust from formal institutions — so real organizations fall short and distrust grows.
그런공식적이고형식적인사회적체계에가족과같은높은신뢰를요구하고있을수있다…may be demanding family-like high trust from such official and formal social systems.p2국가, 사회, 기업을하나의큰가족과같은집단으로인식하는가족확장성…family expansionism, which perceives the nation, society, and companies as one big family-like group…p2현실적으로정부, 사회, 기업과같은사회적조직은더이상한국사람들의높은신뢰의기준을만족시킬수없기에그에대한불신이더높아질수밖에없게되었다는해석이가능할수있다…an interpretation is possible that, realistically, social organizations such as the government, society, and companies can no longer meet Koreans' high standards of trust, so distrust of them inevitably grows.p2Method
Two studies. Study 1 was a survey of how trust standards, actual trust, and family expansionism relate; Study 2 was an experiment in which people were randomly split into two groups that read and wrote texts raising or lowering family expansionism.
전국의성인남녀540명(남성= 270명, 여성= 270명)을대상으로조사회사를통하여온라인설문방식으로자료를수집하였으며Data were collected from 540 adult men and women nationwide (270 men, 270 women) through an online survey via a research company.p7상기12개의기준들이얼마나중요한지에관해7점척도상에서응답하였다…responded on a 7-point scale how important each of the above 12 criteria was…p8실험참여자들의나이평균은38.08세(SD = 10.02)였으며, 범위는20세에서59세였다The participants' mean age was 38.08 (SD = 10.02), ranging from 20 to 59.p7실제로얼마나신뢰하는지를묻는문항들에관해7점척도…on a 7-point scale, to items asking how much they actually trust…p7‘정치인-국민간신뢰의기준(12문항)’, ‘가족확장성(6문항)’…'criteria of trust between politicians and citizens (12 items)', 'family expansionism (6 items)'…p7이때의연구참여자들은연구1에서의참여자들과는상이하였다The participants this time were different from those in Study 1.p14가족확장성수준의조작을위해무선적으로두개의집단에할당되었다…were randomly assigned to two groups to manipulate the level of family expansionism.p14우선가족확장성이높은조건의경우, ‘정부와가족은유사하다’라는논조의글을읽은후이를뒷받침하는글을직접작성해보도록지시를받았다First, in the high family expansionism condition, participants read a text arguing that 'the government and the family are similar' and were then instructed to write a text of their own supporting it.p14가족확장성이낮은조건의경우에는‘정부와가족은다르다’라는논조의글을읽은후In the low family expansionism condition, after reading a text arguing that 'the government and the family are different'…p14정부에대해서도마찬가지로관계요인(6문항)과대상요인(6문항) 측면을반영한, 신뢰기준에대한문항들이활용되었다Likewise for the government, trust-criteria items reflecting the relational factor (6 items) and the target factor (6 items) were used.p14‘진실되고성실해야한다’,‘모범적인모습을보여야한다’, ‘배신하지않아야한다’…'must be truthful and sincere', 'must set an example', 'must not betray'…p8Detailed findings
The 12 trust standards found in the pilot study split into a "relational factor" focused on closeness and reciprocity and a "target factor" focused on morality and responsibility.
친밀성과상호성에초점을맞춘관계적요인과도덕성과책임성에초점을맞춘대상적요인으로구성됨을…confirmed to consist of a relational factor focused on intimacy and reciprocity and a target factor focused on morality and responsibility.p8결과적으로‘대상에대한신뢰의기준’으로12개의문항As a result, 12 items were derived as 'criteria for trusting a target'…p8The overall standard for trusting the judiciary did not differ statistically from the standard for trusting parents — that is, it was similar to the standard for parents.
사법부와부모간신뢰기준차이는유의미하지않았다The difference in trust criteria between the judiciary and parents was not significant.p9이는사법부(M = 5.88, SD = 0.82)에대한신뢰기준은부모에대한신뢰기준과유사하다는것을의미하였다This meant that the trust criteria for the judiciary (M = 5.88, SD = 0.82) were similar to the trust criteria for parents.p9On closeness (relational factor), standards for the judiciary and politicians were lower than for parents; on morality and responsibility (target factor), they were higher.
관계요인에있어서는부모에대한신뢰기준보다사법부및정치인에대한신뢰기준이더낮았지만신뢰기준내대상요인에있어서는부모에대한신뢰기준보다사법부및정치인에대한신뢰기준이더높았다In the relational factor, trust criteria for the judiciary and politicians were lower than for parents, but in the target factor they were higher than for parents.p17The higher the standard people felt the judiciary must meet to be trusted, the less they actually trusted it.
사법부에대해신뢰를갖기위해충족되어야한다고여기는기준이높아질수록,실제사법부에대한신뢰정도가낮았음을…the higher the criteria people think must be met to trust the judiciary, the lower their actual trust in the judiciary.p10People who applied stricter standards to the judiciary than to their parents distrusted the judiciary more.
결과적으로부모보다사법부에대해보다엄격한신뢰기준을적용하는사람들은사법Consequently, people who applied stricter trust criteria to the judiciary than to parents [distrusted] the judiciary [more].p11The higher the family expansionism, the less people trusted the judiciary relative to their parents.
가족확장성수준이높을수록부모에비해사법부를더신뢰하는정도는낮았다The higher the level of family expansionism, the lower the degree of trusting the judiciary relative to parents.p13In the experiment, people who read a text arguing that 'the government and the family are similar' and wrote their own supporting text came to hold standards for the government closer to their standards for parents on the relational (closeness) side.
가족확장성이높게유도된조건의참여자들은정부에대한신뢰기준이부모에대한신뢰기준에가까워졌다Participants in the high family expansionism condition had trust criteria for the government that came closer to their trust criteria for parents.p16가족확장성이높은조건의경우, ‘정부와가족은유사하다’라는논조의글을읽은후이를뒷받침하는글을직접작성해보도록…in the high family expansionism condition, after reading a text arguing that 'the government and the family are similar', participants wrote a text of their own supporting it…p14분석결과정부에대한상대적신뢰기준의관계요인측면에서는집단간차이가유의미하였다The analysis showed a significant group difference in the relational-factor aspect of relative trust criteria for the government.p16However, standards on morality and responsibility did not differ between the two experimental groups.
정부에대한상대적신뢰기준의대상요인측면에서는집단간차이가유의미하지않았다In the target factor of relative trust criteria for the government, the difference between groups was not significant.p16Authors’ interpretation
International comparisons such as the OECD's are not enough to hastily label Korea a "low-trust society."
국가간신뢰인식상의비교결과들을토대로성급하게한국사회를‘저신뢰사회’로규정짓기는어려운일이라판단된다…it is judged difficult to hastily define Korean society as a 'low-trust society' based on cross-national comparisons of trust perceptions.p17Family expansionism — a distinctive disposition shaped by a collectivist history and Confucian family values — may be one cause of low trust across Korean society.
족확장성이라는독특한문화적성향이한국사회전반에나타나고있는저신뢰현상에대한원인이될수있음을…the distinctive cultural disposition of family expansionism can be a cause of the low-trust phenomenon appearing throughout Korean society.p18결과적으로이는집단주의적역사, 가족을중시하던유교적가치Ultimately, this [suggests that] collectivist history, Confucian values that emphasized the family…p17Even amid talk of "family breakdown" with nuclear families and single-person households, understanding Korean trust still requires understanding its root: the family.
여전히한국인들의신뢰인식의원류인‘가족’을이해해야할필요가있음을…there is still a need to understand 'the family,' the source of Koreans' trust perceptions.p18대가족중심의전통적가족구성은점차핵가족의형태로재편되어왔으며…the traditional extended-family structure has gradually been reorganized into the nuclear family, and…p181인가구나고독사가증가하는지금의현실은한국사회내진행중인‘가족해체’를상징적으로보여준다…today's reality of rising one-person households and solitary deaths symbolically shows the 'family breakdown' under way in Korean society.p18Limits the authors note
Besides parents, only the judiciary, politicians, and the government were studied, so this alone cannot reveal trust perceptions of Korean society as a whole (business, media, education, religion, etc. should be added).
단지이들에대한연구결과들만을통해한국사회전체에대한신뢰인식을규명하기에는어려움이따를수있다It may be difficult to identify trust perceptions of Korean society as a whole only through results on these targets.p18향후연구에서는기업, 언론, 교육계, 종교계, 시민사회등다양한사회조직들을대상으로Future research should target various social organizations such as companies, the media, education, religion, and civil society…p18Only Koreans were studied; how much family expansionism contributes to low-trust perceptions can only be checked through cross-cultural comparison.
저신뢰인식에서어느정도비중을차지하는지는비교문화심리학적검증을통해서만확인이가능하기때문이다…because how much weight it carries in low-trust perceptions can only be confirmed through cross-cultural psychological testing.p18둘째, 본연구는한국인들을대상으로수행되었지만Second, although this study was conducted with Koreans…p18Key terms
Family expansionism (gajok hwakjangseong, 가족확장성) A tendency to understand large social systems — communities, companies, the government, the media — as families. People high in it see president and citizens, or employer and employees, like parents and children.
지역사회, 기업, 정부,언론등거시적인사회체계들을곧가족체계로이해하고자하는성향을의미한다…refers to the tendency to understand macro social systems such as local communities, companies, the government, and the media as family systems.p6기업가-종업원, 대통령-국민등의관계를곧부모와자식의관계로이해하고자하며…they tend to understand relationships such as employer–employee and president–citizens as relationships between parent and child, and…p6Reference group effect When answering surveys, people gauge themselves against others in their own country, so each country has a different baseline and scores cannot be compared directly.
한국인은한국인들을참조집단으로삼아자신의태도, 가치관의상대적크기를추정하며Koreans use Koreans as their reference group to estimate the relative magnitude of their own attitudes and values…p5각문화권실험참여자들의참조집단이서로상이하다면, 측정된리커트척도점수들에대한직접적인비교는어렵다If participants from each culture have different reference groups, it is difficult to directly compare the measured Likert-scale scores.p5사람들은태도, 가치관등에대한자기보고식문항들에응답하는과정에서, 자신이속한문화권의사람들을각각참조집단으로삼는다In answering self-report items about attitudes, values, and the like, people each take the people of their own culture as a reference group.p5