Trust and Satisfaction in Peer Learning Groups

The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedents of trust and the relationship of trust on student satisfaction within collaborative peer learning groups. Students from a mid-sized regional comprehensive university (n=423) returned completed surveys. Overall, findings provide support for the proposed model and suggest that factors related to the originator of trust, the target of trust, and between individual attitudes and behaviors required for successful team functioning are influential. Additional findings, limitations, implications for teaching, and directions for future research are discussed. Introduction Collaborative learning is a major component of business education today. Students in many college classes are required to complete projects in groups and one of the complaints that students have is the possibility of unequal contributions of group members to the final product (Williams, Beard, & Rymer, 1991). Evaluation criteria can be established to hold both the group and the individual accountable for the group processes and products (Williams et al.), but a factor that may influence the functioning of the group is the trust members have for other members of their team or group. Background Many studies have been published pertaining to trust yet the nature of its development has not been studied and inconsistencies exist in its conceptualization and measurement (Gill, Boies, Finegan, & McNally, 2005). The most contentious issue appears to be a lack of consensus between the antecedents of trust and the construct of trust itself (Bhattacharya, Devinney, & Pilluta, 1998; Gill et al.; Mayer, Davis, & Schoorman, 1995). Using the Integrative Model of Organizational Trust (Mayer et al.) when examining trust between two or more individuals, there is a trustor (the individual trusting) and a trustee or trustees (the individual or individuals being trusted). Mayer et al.'s conceptualization of trust states that one party allows itself to be vulnerable to the actions of another based on expectations that the other party will act in a particular manner. In this rational view, trust is an entity that individuals will evaluate with respect to the notion that a trusting relationship entails time-savings, savings of emotional energy, and results in benefits that are not present in non-trusting relationships (Jarvenpaa, Knoll, & Leidner, 1998). In other words, the rational view employs trust as a means to address a focal individual's self-interests. This study looks at the rational view of trust as examined by Jarvenpaa et al. to provide a theoretical framework for the antecedents of trust in a classroom setting. Researchers have proposed that people determine trust in others based on their beliefs about the trustee's abilities (i.e., knowledge, skills, and competencies), integrity (i.e., the extent to which a trustor believes that the trustee will act in a way that the trustee finds acceptable), and benevolence (i.e., the extent to which the trustor believes that the trustee will act in the best interests of the trustor) (Gill et al.; Mayer et al.). An individual is more likely to trust others who are of high ability, benevolence, and integrity. Also influencing trust is the personality variable of propensity to trust that refers to a generalized expectation of the trust of others (Mayer et al.). This variable is sometimes called dispositional trust (Kramer, 1999; Kramer & Tyler, 1996) or interpersonal mast (Rotter, 1971, 1980) and is viewed as the primary ingredient in trust early in a relationship (Mayer et al.). People with a high propensity to trust have positive expectations about the behaviors and intentions of others (Mayer et al.). Findings from the works of Ostroff, Shin, and Kinicki (2005) suggest that there is a collection of attitudes that can serve to facilitate fit between focal individuals and effectiveness in a team context. …