How Trust Works

The Science of How Relationships Are Built, Broken, and Repaired

By: Dr. Peter H. Kim PhD

Narrated by: Keong Sim

"In this age of diminishing trust in public figures, this audiobook offers highly useful guidance about how to trust and withhold trust more thoughtfully." - AudioFile

From the world's leading expert on trust repair, a guide to understanding the most essential foundation of our relationships and communities.

When our trust is broken, and when our own trustworthiness is called into question, many of us are left wondering what to do. We barely know how trust works. How could we possibly repair it?

Dr. Peter H. Kim, the world’s leading expert in the rapidly growing field of trust repair, has conducted over two decades of groundbreaking research to answer that question. In How Trust Works, he draws on this research and the work of other social scientists to reveal the surprising truths about how relationships are built, how they are broken, and how they are repaired. Dr. Kim’s work shows how we are often more trusting than we think and how easily our trust in others can be distorted. He illustrates these insights with accounts of some of the most striking and well-known trust violations that have occurred in modern times and unveils the crucial secrets behind when and why our attempts to repair trust are effective, and which breaches of confidence are just too deep.

How Trust Works transforms our understanding of our deepest bonds, giving us the tools to build strong and supportive relationships on every level. With our families, coworkers, and friends. With the groups, organizations, and institutions that touch our lives. And even with societies and nations.

A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

©2023 Peter H. Kim (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Written with wit and compassion, How Trust Works brims with insights about our judgements of others' actions and the ways that our intuitions can sometimes lead to irrational conclusions. With enormous implications for individuals, businesses, and society, this is an eye-opening read for anyone who wishes to understand human behavior and relationships."—David Robson, author of The Intelligence Trap and The Expectation Effect

“How Trust Works is engaging, evidence-based, and deeply important. Peter Kim explains why you trust others, how trust can be damaged, and how it can be repaired. In doing so, he offers an invaluable guide to improving all of your relationships. Every interaction is based on trust, which makes How Trust Works a must-read.”—Katy Milkman, author of How to Change

"At a time when trust feels elusive, renowned scholar Peter Kim offers us a much-needed, evidence-based guide to understand how trust works. Current, urgent, and fueled by Dr. Kim's humanity, How Trust Works left me with greater clarity and a sense of hope."—Dolly Chugh, author of A More Just Future and The Person You Mean to Be

I DID KNOW

…now I understand. I have no idea how you decided to put this nonfiction into words? However, thank you. I now need a hardcopy to read those words myself. I think you might need to write a second book as an example: Watching US with SK & J…

How To Fix Trust That Is Broken

“Regardless of who we are or where we were born, we all know what it means to have our trust broken.” - Peter Kim

I want to recommend a wonderful book by my former USC professor, Peter Kim. The book explores the matters of trust-building and violation on individual, societal, cultural, and institutional levels. While I don’t love the design of the cover, this is one of those instances when you can't judge a book by its cover. It is well-written, thoughtful, and thought-provoking. I felt privileged to learn intimate details about Professor Kim’s upbringing as a child of immigrants who never lost trust in the American Dream despite the challenges that came their way time and time again.
The book offers a comprehensive toolkit for those who have struggled with trust or mistrust, glimpsing how beliefs affecting those sentiments can be biased or entirely mistaken. It's for those who have faced the violation of trust as either an offender or a victim, and seek to understand how one might repair those relationships. It's also for those who seek to understand how trust can be established with new people or groups and ultimately strengthened. And finally, it's for those who seek some way to reconcile our increasingly difficult political divides and understand how we all can manage trust in society.
Peter Kim’s storytelling reminds me of Adam Grant's. In his book, he demonstrates his points through various examples, including sex scandals, exploring why the public might have forgiven Arnold Schwarzenegger but not Bill Clinton. He examines Dolce & Gabbana’s struggle to overcome a racial controversy in China and discusses the Sackler family’s efforts to evade culpability for their role in the opioid crisis.
The book builds on these insights to confront the challenges of mistrust at the societal level. Professor Kim discusses how poorly we deal with matters of justice and redemption in general through the experience of Father Greg, who founded Homeboy Industries in the most dangerous part of Los Angeles to rehabilitate gang members. He revisits the violent clashes of the 2017 Unite The Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, explores the divergent reactions to the police killings of Brianna Taylor and George Floyd, and looks at how our responses might be shaped by our group memberships. He also examines the bloody legacy of the great partition of India and compares the attempts of the Nuremberg trials in West Germany, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, and the Gacaca Courts in Rwanda to address gross human rights abuses and heal those divided nations.
This book will be useful for all future leaders, and you will find it valuable in both your personal and professional life.