New Paper on Individual Trust Bias Published in Human Factors
June 24, 2026
Prior work on trust in multi-component systems has proposed two competing perspectives: system-wide trust (SWT)
versus component-specific trust (CST). SWT argues that individuals view multiple agent teammates as interconnected
parts of a single “system,” and thus trust in one agent spills over to others; CST, in contrast, argues that trust is
evaluated on a component-by-component basis. However, existing studies have largely overlooked individual differences
in these trust evaluation patterns.
The current study took an exploratory approach in examining trust bias patterns (assimilation, no bias, and contrast)
when participants evaluated one agent in the presence of another within a multi-agent HAT. We found significant
individual variability and reported the distribution of the trust bias patterns: while all three patterns were present,
assimilation bias was more common than contrast bias. We also examined how these patterns affected communication strategies
and team performance in the mixed condition. This study underscores the importance of considering individual variability in trust bias,
which is essential for developing effective personalized mitigation strategies.
Please check out this paper!
Citation: Chung, H., & Yang, X. J. (2026). System-Wide Trust (SWT) Versus Component-Specific Trust (CST) in
Multi-Agent Human–Agent Teams: Individual Variability in Trust Bias.
Human Factors, 00187208261464006.