Course Syllabus

Trust Lab Draft Syllabus

Semester & Location:	Summer Session 1&2 2026 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	6 Week Course -  6 credits
Major Disciplines:	Psychology, Human Development, Sociology
Prerequisite(s):	At least one psychology course at university level.
Faculty Members:	Kamilla Lange (current students please use the Canvas Inbox)
Time & Place:	See course schedule timing Classroom:

 

Course Description

Trust Lab explores the role of social trust. What is the role of trust in how we feel, function, and collaborate? What does it mean for our health, our economies, and our societal structures? In the Trust Lab, we will examine theories and research on how trust is created, and how it can be repaired when broken. We will engage in experiential activities such as practical experiments, mini-research explorations, presentations, and discussion, bridging the gap between theory and real life applications. Students will work in groups to conduct independent research projects which will involve designing interventions intended to repair and/or increase social trust.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will have the opportunity to:

• Critically analyze theories and findings on social trust and its implications for individuals, groups and societies.
• Conduct small experiments and surveys in relation to social trust.
• Design interventions to build, increase and/or repair social trust.

Faculty

Kamilla Lange
Msc. Psychology (2006, University of Copenhagen). BA. Psychology (2003, University of Copenhagen). Works as a clinical psychologist and mindfulness instructor. Teacher and supervisor for both psychologists, medical doctors and other professionals. Author of a book on mindfulness and body acceptance. With DIS since 2015.

Readings

(The readings below are a sample list and may be adjusted prior to the start of the course).

• Brezzi, M., González, S., Nguyen, D., & Prats, M. (2021). An updated OECD framework on drivers of trust in public institutions to meet current and future challenges.
• Dinesen, P. T., Schaeffer, M., & Sønderskov, K. M. (2020). Ethnic diversity and social trust: A narrative and meta-analytical review. Annual Review of Political Science, 23(1), 441-465.
• DOHMEN, T., FALK, A., HUFFMAN, D., & SUNDE, U. (2012). The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk and Trust Attitudes. The Review of Economic Studies, 79(2), 645–677.
• Flynn, K., Richmond, T. S., Branas, C. C., & Wiebe, D. J. (2018). Neighbourhood social trust and youth perceptions of safety during daily activities. Injury prevention, 24(6), 445-447.
• Glanville, J. L., & Paxton, P. (2007). How do We Learn to Trust? A Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis of the Sources of Generalized Trust. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70(3), 230-242.
• Glanville, J. L., & Story, W. T. (2018). Social capital and self-rated health: Clarifying the role of trust. Social Science Research, 71, 98-108.
• Glatz, C., & Schwerdtfeger, A. (2022). Disentangling the causal structure between social trust, institutional trust, and subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 163(3), 1323-1348.
• Justwan, F., Bakker, R., & Berejikian, J. D. (2018). Measuring social trust and trusting the measure. The Social Science Journal, 55(2), 149-159.
• Kim, YI., VanderWeele, T.J. & Johnson, B.R. Childhood predictors of perceptions of social trust across 22 countries in the global flourishing study. Sci Rep 15, 14358 (2025).
• Mason, S. G. (2010). Can community design build trust? A comparative study of design factors in Boise, Idaho neighborhoods. Cities, 27(6), 456-465.
• Pym, A., & Hu, B. (2022). Trust and Cooperation through Social Media. Translation and social media communication in the age of the pandemic, 44-61.
• Poulin, M. J., & Haase, C. M. (2015). Growing to trust: Evidence that trust increases and sustains well-being across the life span. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 614-621.
• Sønderskov, K. M., & Dinesen, P. T. (2014). Danish exceptionalism: Explaining the unique increase in social trust over the past 30 years. European Sociological Review, 30(6), 782-795.
• Christoph Spörlein, Cornelia Kristen, Regine Schmidt (2024). The intergenerational transmission of risk and trust attitudes: Replicating and extending “Dohmen, Falk, Huffman and Sunde 2012” using genetically informed twin data, Social Science Research, vol. 119.
• Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2011). A brief social-belonging intervention improves academic and health outcomes of minority students. Science, 331(6023), 1447-1451.
• Walton, G. M., Brady, S. T., & Crum, A. J. (2020). The social-belonging intervention. Handbook of wise interventions: How social psychology can help people change, 36-62.
• You, J. S. (2012). Social trust: Fairness matters more than homogeneity. Political Psychology, 33(5), 701-721.
• Ziller, C. (2017). Equal treatment regulations and ethnic minority social trust. European Sociological Review, 33(4), 563-575.

 

Field Studies

TBA

Guest Lecturers

TBA

Approach to Teaching

The class will be a mixture of lecturing, data collection, research design, student group presentations, and class discussion. I see it as collaborative learning, where I serve as the facilitator, but the whole class is instrumental for the outcome. I welcome questions and discussion. 

DIS Accommodations Statement 

Your learning experience in this class is important to me.  If you have approved academic accommodations with DIS, please make sure I receive your DIS accommodations letter on the first days of class. If you can think of other ways I can support your learning, please don't hesitate to talk to me. If you have any further questions about your academic accommodations, contact Academic Support academicsupport@dis.dk

Expectations of the Students

The students are expected to:

• Attend all classes having read the materials prior to class.
• Participate actively in discussions in class and in group exercises.
• Develop and exercise critical thinking throughout the course.

Classroom etiquette includes being respectful of one another’s opinions; listening to others and entering into dialogue in a constructive manner. Students are required to treat the contributions from each other with confidentiality and respect for privacy.

Evaluation

Participation (25%)

Participation in class requires arriving on time and being prepared in relation to readings and other assignments. Your participation grade reflects the importance of being active in this course, which relies in great part on the reflections, discussions, and exercises in class. Equally important is active participation during field work and group projects. 

Lab and field work log and report part 1 (10%)

Each student will keep a log of the lab and field work they participate in. This includes social observations, interviews, experiments, field work and other types of data collection that they have been part of. In the midsection of the course, based on their logs, the students will submit a report on their lab and field work so far. 

Lab and field work report part 2 (15%)

The second part of the lab and field work report is due at the end of the course and includes a report based on the logs from the latter part of the course. This report should also include a 1 page reflection on the learnings from this lab and field work. 

Small-scale pilot research project (15%)

During the course, the students will work in groups to design and conduct a small-scale pilot research project. The aim of the project is for students to get some experience with the process of experimental design and research. The project will involve data collection relevant to the topic of social trust. The project could be a reproduction of a classic trust experiment or it could be a new experimental design that they create themselves. After conducting the pilot study, students should write a short (3-page max) report on their findings and what they have learned about the opportunities and limitations of experimental research for understanding social trust. 

Final project (35%): 

Part 1: Create a practical application and develop an implementation plan:

Students will be assigned to small groups for the final project. Each group will identify a specific challenge or burning issue of our time relating to trust. The group is free to choose their case, that can address either the individual micro-level, the meso-level of institutions and organizations, or the macro-level; i.e. the livability of society. The aim is to create a vision of change, develop an intervention to increase and/or repair trust, and a plan for achieving that vision or goal. 

In order to promote creativity and out-of-the-box-thinking, there are no set guidelines for what the project should look like. Rather, the group should cultivate several ideas and consult the faculty member to develop these into a project that involves a clear vision for why and how it can make the world a more trusting place. Further details regarding the format of this paper will be provided in class.

Part 2: Final presentation:

By the end of the course, the group will introduce and argue for their intervention in a class presentation. During the presentation, the group will demonstrate understanding of central constructs, characteristics, research finding and limitations related to their project. They will also facilitate a class discussion, engaging their classmates in a reflection on their project and the broader topic of trust. 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Participation	25%
Lab and field work report part 1	10%
Lab and field work report part 2	15%
Small-scale pilot research project	15%
Final project (paper and presentation)	35%

Classroom policies

Late papers will be accepted, but the students are required to contact the instructor before the deadline to arrange an extension of the deadline, otherwise the grade will be reduced by half a letter point for each day that it is late. 

Unless specific academic accommodations apply, laptops and phones are not allowed during the lecture and discussion part of classes. This is to promote the active participation and engagement of the class and to facilitate a positive classroom environment. 

Academic Regulations (Summer)

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code

 

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