How Much does Empathy Resemble Trust? Trust Radius and Interpersonal Empathy in South Korea

Abstract

This research attempts to 1) explore trust from a theoretical angle using various perspectives in the social science research literature and 2) reveal the empirical relationship between trust and empathy at the individual level. Although trust and empathy share similar characteristics when considered in the realm of theory, they have typically been probed in distinct disciplines. Hence, there is a need for interdisciplinary perspective that addresses two concepts together. Using the Social Attitude Survey for Korean Society data collected in 2021, this study conducted a correlation and multivariate analysis that examined how much trust and empathy resemble. The results show that trust radius and interpersonal empathy are highly correlated. Also, trust and empathy levels differ from individual to individual in terms of one’s socioeconomic and demographic background. From this comparison, we emphasize the importance of the macro level effect of trust and empathy.