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.
• Develop and evaluate quantitative measurement tools for different types of trust. 
• 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.

Guest Lecturers

Jennifer Duncan-Bendix 

M.Ed. (Daycare and Primary School, Aarhus University, 2014). B.A. (Human Development and Family Studies – Early Childhood Development and Education, University of Connecticut, 2006). Assistant Program Director of Child Development and Diversity, DIS, 2014-2021. Pedagogue in the International and Danish communities in Copenhagen, 2008-2010. Interests include cross-cultural practices, discourses, and research related to how we create active and caring environments for young children. With DIS since 2007.

 

Ida Helene Asmussen

Associate Professor in Mediation and Restorative Justice at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen (holding a BA in Literature & Psychology, as well as an MA and Ph.D. in Law).

 

Vibeke Naja Høyrup Dam, Ph.D in Neurobiology, visiting senior research associate at School of Psychological Sciences, University of Bristol, Clinical psychologist, Post doc, Neurobiology Research Unit.

Readings

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

• Andersen, K., Djerf-Pierre, M., & Shehata, A. (2024). The Scary World Syndrome: News Orientations, Negativity Bias, and the Cultivation of Anxiety. Mass Communication and Society, 27(3), 502–524.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.
• Cavanagh AJ, Chen X, Bathgate M, Frederick J, Hanauer DI, Graham MJ. Trust, Growth Mindset, and Student Commitment to Active Learning in a College Science Course. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2018 Spring;17(1):ar10. doi: 10.1187/cbe.17-06-0107. PMID: 29378750; PMCID: PMC6007784.
• Daminov, Ildar. (2024). Relationship between the type of media consumption and political trust in the European Union: Evidence from the 94th Eurobarometer 2020/2021 Survey. Communication and the Public. 9.
• 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.
• Dinesen, Peter Thisted, and Kim Mannemar Sønderskov, 'Ethnic Diversity and Social Trust: A Critical Review of the Literature and Suggestions for a Research Agenda', in Eric M. Uslaner (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Social and Political Trust, Oxford Handbooks (2018; online edn, Oxford Academic, 10 Jan. 2017).
• 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.

• Guo X, Yin L. Behavioral dishonesty in multiscenes: Associations with trait honesty and neural patterns during (dis)honesty video-watching. Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Jun 1;45(8):e26710. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26710. PMID: 38853713; PMCID: PMC11163231.

• Holzer, A., Daumiller, M. Building trust in the classroom: perspectives from students and teachers. Eur J Psychol Educ 40, 62 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-025-00961-7
• 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).
• Kragh-Muller: Chapter 1. The Key Characteristics in Danish/Nordic Child Care Culture. In:  C. Ringsmose, G. Kragh-Müller (eds.), Nordic Social Pedagogical Approach to Early Years, International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Development.
• Mason, S. G. (2010). Can community design build trust? A comparative study of design factors in Boise, Idaho neighborhoods. Cities, 27(6), 456-465.

• OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2024 Results ‑ Country Notes: Denmark.

• OECD (2017), OECD Guidelines on Measuring Trust, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264278219-en.
• Osman Sabri Kiratli, Social Media Effects on Public Trust in the European Union, Public Opinion Quarterly, Volume 87, Issue 3, Fall 2023, Pages 749–763, https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfad029
• 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.

• Shalvi, Shaul & Levine, Emma & Thielmann, Isabel & Jayawickreme, Eranda & Van Rooij, Benjamin & Teodorescu, Kinneret & Schurr, Amos & Furr, Mike & Aglioti, Salvatore & Zettler, Ingo & Cohen, Taya & Pittarello, Andrea & Barkan, Rachel & Kobis, Nils & Leib, Margarita & Mitkidis, Panagiotis & Schulz, Jonathan & Dimant, Eugen & van Kleef, Gerben & Ritov, Ilana. (2024). The Science of Honesty: A Review and Research Agenda. 10.31234/osf.io/at4xc. 

• Sharma, K., Schoorman, F. D., & Ballinger, G. A. (2023). How can it be made right again? A review of trust repair research. Journal of Management, 49(1), 363-399.
• Social Policy in Denmark, Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2025
• 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.
• Spörlein, C.; 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.
• Xin, S., Xin, Z., & Lin, C. (2016). Effects of trustors' social identity complexity on interpersonal and intergroup trust. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(4), 428-440.
• 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

• Visit to an afterschool program, Børnebyen, to learn about Scandinavian approaches to childhood care and education and the role of trust and autonomy. 
• Walking tour of Copenhagen to explore how the built environment contributes to social cohesion, trust and sense of safety. 
• Visit to the Danish Parliament to learn about the political system and institutional trust. 
• Approach to Teaching

The class will be a mixture of lecturing, field work, 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.

 

Lab and field work log

During the course, each student will keep a log of their group experiments and their field work. You can find inspiration for how to set up your field work log here. Writing a Field Report - Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments - Research Guides at University of Southern California

Each log post should contain the following:

• Date, time and location for the observations/experiment/interviews. 
• Observations and reflections on circumstances and their potential influence on findings. Is the weather a factor? Does the type of surroundings and/or the presence of other people play a part? Might recent events influence people's behavior and responses? Etc. 
• What were you researching? 
• What are your findings and observations?
• How may your own perspective influence these?
• How does the field work connect to the literature we have reviewed in class?
• Other notes. 

Evaluation

Participation (20%)

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 (20%)

In the latter part of the course, each student will submit their field work log and write a 2 page (1 page = 300 words) report on their field work. Formatting is up to you. The report should synthesize your observations and findings from your field work and experiments. Which patterns did you observe and how does that correlate with the theoretical and empirical work related to social trust. The report does not have to describe each and every field work you have done, just the most relevant parts. But the full field work log should be submitted along the report. 

Gross National Trust measurement development (10%)

We will work collaboratively to develop a set of measurements for national levels of trust. 

Small groups will each be given a specific aspect of trust to work with.

Each group will be tasked with 

• Qualify the meaning and consequences of this aspect of trust
• Identify markers 
• Develop measurement tools
• Analyze potential limitations for the measurement tools. 

Trust and its correlates (15%)

In this individual assignment, the goal is to synthesize and evaluate the literature on social trust and relate it to discussions, field work and learnings from class. 

The paper is limited to 4 pages (1 page = 300 words), formatting is up to you. You can use the reference system you are most familiar with, as long as you use it consistently. When quoting, remember to include the page number. 

The paper should address the following:

• How is social trust identified?
• Which potential limitations and problem are there with the way we define and measure social trust today?
• Which theories about social trust do you find most relevant for what you have observed in Denmark? 
• How would you explain the comparable high levels of trust in DK?
• What are some consequences of high/low levels of social trust for 
  • Economy
  • Health
  • Wellbeing
  • Governance
• What are you interested in researching further?

This is an academic assignment, therefore it is important to distinguish between opinion, ideas and empirically backed information. When making claims or statements, make sure to include references to sources that support these. You can include your own ideas and opinions, just make it clear when you do so.

Final project (25%): 

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	20%
Development of measurement tools for a Gross National Trust report	15%
Field work log and report	20%
Trust and its correlates	15%
Final project (paper and presentation)	30%

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. 

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