One of the psychological variables that affect our daily life and the activities we carry out is confidence , which must be present in interpersonal relationships, but also in work and sport.

Trust is key to our well-being, especially self-confidence.

Types of trust

But, what kind of trust is there? How can we classify them? There are eight types of trust. Here we explain them with their different characteristics.

1. Trust in others

Trust in others is a phenomenon that is often talked about in interpersonal relationships, especially those between couples. In our article “The 7 keys to have a healthy couple relationship” we already explained that respect, fidelity, trust… are essential for love relationships to work.

Human beings are social beings, and therefore we need others to live better and to enjoy greater psychological and emotional well-being. Having close relationships gives meaning to our lives, and having people we trust helps us to be happy.

Obviously, we cannot trust everyone, because sometimes we may come across individuals who will want to let us down, cheat us or take advantage of us, but especially those people close to us who have shown us that we can trust them, we must give them a vote of confidence.

Trust is not something that comes as standard although some experts think it is innate, at least with respect to our relatives, and when we know someone, one must earn it. Sincerity and credibility are some variables that increase or not the trust we can have in other people.

  • Now, what happens when we lose confidence in someone? Is it possible to regain it? We explain this in our article “9 tips to regain someone’s trust”

2. Self-confidence or self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is what is commonly known as self-confidence , a concept introduced by the Ukrainian-Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura in 1986, and of which he spoke in his Theory of Social Learning. This well-known theory deals with the regulation of motivation and human action, which implies three types of expectations: situation-result expectations, action-result expectations and perceived self-efficacy. Today I will talk to you about self-efficacy.

  • To know more, you can read our text “Albert Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning”

Self-confidence is often confused with self-esteem, and although they are related, they are not the same . Self-esteem is the global assessment that a person has of him/herself, whereas self-confidence refers to the assessment of oneself with regard to the capacity to perform a task and carry out an objective.

It is a concept that is closely related to personal development, since a high level of self-confidence allows one to overcome the obstacles that can arise in an individual’s path when fighting for a goal. When a person has high self-efficacy, he or she is very interested in the tasks in which he or she participates because he or she feels competent, sees problems as challenging, experiences a high commitment to his or her interests and activities, and recovers quickly from his or her failures. Fortunately, self-confidence can be worked on and improved.

Bandura believes that four important aspects intervene in a person’s self-confidence : performance achievements, which are the successes and failures of past experiences, rather the perception one has of them and the frequency with which they appear. The observation or vicarious experience has a special influence on those situations in which the person has no little experience in carrying out a task. The verbal persuasion (e.g., the words of encouragement) and the physiological state of the individual, which includes not only physical sensations but also emotional states, influence how the person interprets the situation.

  • If you want to know how to improve your self-confidence, you can follow the steps in our article: “Self-confidence: discover the 7 keys to improve it”

3. False self-confidence

Sometimes, some individuals seem to show high confidence when in fact they do not trust themselves. This is what is known as false self-confidence, a form of protection against the perception of low self-efficacy .

Subjects with false self-confidence can sometimes be convinced that they trust themselves even if they do not, and can even make positive self-talk towards themselves, with optimistic phrases. It is a type of self-deception that does not favour personal development at all, and that allows the person to escape from the true internal state of self-confidence that in many cases is behind the “mask”.

  • This type of trust can have negative consequences for the subject who experiences it, as you can see in our article “False self-confidence: the heavy mask of self-deception”

4. Behavioral confidence

It has to do with the person’s behaviour , and it is the subjects’ own capacity to act positively or not, to overcome obstacles and make correct decisions that affect the individual’s behaviour.

5. Emotional confidence

Emotions are key to people’s well-being, and their proper management makes it possible for a person to be more or less happy. With the popularity of the term emotional intelligence, it is not surprising that there is talk of emotional trust.

Some individuals fear their own emotions, but mastering the ability to understand and interpret the own emotions of others , and the ability to regulate emotions to favour interpersonal relationships with other people, is possible with emotional confidence.

6. Spiritual Trust

It refers to the faith that individuals have about the life around them and the context in which they move.

7. Simple trust

Some experts, like the biologist Humberto Maturana, think that trust can be innate . It is what is known as simple trust, and we are born with it. It is automatic, like trust towards our parents. It is total and complete.

8. Confidence fed

Nevertheless, throughout life and as a result of experiences, this simple trust can be shaped . Then we can either keep the trust high in other people or mistrust can appear.