当代中国社会的人际信任特征与建设路径——基于第七波WVS数据的实证研究

The Characteristics and Construction Path of Interpersonal Trust in Contemporary Chinese Society——An Empirical Study Based on China Data from the 7th Wave of World Value Survey

中国社会人际交往的“差序格局”特征决定了对中国社会人际信任的研究不能采用西方“特殊信任”与“普遍信任”二元对立的理论架构,而应采用体现中国学术传统的连续统视角。本研究基于信任研究的连续统视角,通过对2020年最新发布的第7波世界价值观调查(WVS)中国大陆地区数据(2018)的分析得出如下结论:1.当代中国社会的人际信任依旧呈现出“从家人到熟人再到生人”的差序格局状态,对家人的信任极高,对熟人的信任较高,对生人的信任依然很低,且生人信任水平与第6波WVS数据(2012)之间无显著性差异;2.当代中国社会的人际信任呈现出明显的“连续统”特征,并非简单的二元对立关系,虽然家人信任对生人信任无显著性影响,但对熟人信任有显著性影响,且熟人信任对生人信任存在显著性影响。这一研究结果表明,当前中国社会的生人信任水平依旧很低,人际信任建设仍然任重道远;但由于熟人信任对生人信任的显著性影响,因此重建熟人社会理应成为当代中国社会人际信任建设的重要参考路径之一。

“The pattern of difference sequence”of interpersonal communication in Chinese society determines that the study of interpersonal trust in Chinese society should not adopt the theoretical framework of the binary opposition of“particularistic trust”and“universalistic trust”in the west,but should adopt the research perspective of the continuum reflecting Chinese academic tradition.Based on the continuum perspective of trust,this study draws the following conclusions by analyzing the China's Mainland data(2018)from the 7th wave of World Value Survey(WVS)released in 2020:1.The interpersonal trust in contemporary Chinese society still shows the pattern of difference sequence“from families to acquaintances to strangers”,that is,the level of trust in families is extremely high,trust in acquaintances is higher,and trust in strangers is still very low;and there is no significant difference in the level of trust in strangers between the 7th(2018)and 6th(2012)of wave WVS data.2.In contemporary Chinese society,interpersonal trust is characterized by an obvious“continuum”rather than a simple binary opposition.Although trust in families has no significant influence on trust in strangers,it has a significant influence on trust in acquaintances,and trust in acquaintances has a significant influence on trust in strangers.The results show that the level of trust in strangers in Chinese society is still very low,and there is still a long way to go to build interpersonal trust.However,due to the significant influence of trust in acquaintances on trust in strangers,the reconstruction of acquaintances’society should be one of the important reference paths for the construction of interpersonal trust in contemporary Chinese society.