Maum as the Basis of Trust and Distrust in interpersonal Relationships from Indigenous and Cultural Perspectives

한국사회에서의 대인관계속의 신뢰와 불신의 기반으로서의 마음에 대한 문화심리학적 접근

  • Sang-Chin Choi (Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Uichol Kim (Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University) ;
  • Kibum Kim (Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University)
  • Received : 2003.10.28
  • Published : 2003.11.30

Abstract

The fundamental goal of this paper is to make a sketch of what trust looks like in Korean culture. To pursue this goal, we have resorted to materials linked to trust whose characteristics are theoretical, conceptual, observational and illustrational. Although a shortage of empirical and systematic data on trust is a big obstacle to profound understanding of trust operating in Korea, we would like to assign some significance to our attempt to conceptualize the concept of trust as it really is in the Maum(mind) of common Koreans. We believe that research paradigm for behavioral science should be cast off in research of mind-related phenomena like trust. A general practice cherished to date in doing psychological research is to pinpoint exclusively its focus on external manifestation of a given concept with no precedent analyses about it in anthropological and cultural-psychological perspectives. We would like to argue that complete understanding of naïve psychology of those phenomena should precede construction of psychological theories about them. That is, knowledge of interpretations, experiences and theories laypersons have in relation to mind-related phenomena has to be underpinnings of further theoretical elaborations about those phenomena.

본 고에서는 기존의 사회심리학에서의 신뢰 연구가 행동 중심의 접근이었고, 합리적이고 산술적인 모형으로 접근해왔음을 지적하고, 대인관계속에서 상호간의 신뢰 형성은 상대방의 마음에 기반을 둔 신뢰임을 주장하고자 했다. 신뢰에 대한 연구가 미개발 상태에 있는 한국의 경우, 신뢰를 논해야 하는 경우를 당해서 불가피하게 서구의 신뢰모형에 의존하지 않으면 안되는 것이 지금까지의 현실이었다. 이러한 상황에서 한국 문화권에서의 신뢰 연구는 유교문화권 국가에서는 물론 서구에서 이루어진 신뢰연구를 문화 비교심리학적 차원에서 조망하고 검토해 볼 수 있는 하나의 비교자료가 될 수 있으리라고 믿는다.

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