This chapter sets forth a theoretical foundation for studying trust toward technological actors as social actors using sociological research in structure and cultural sentiments. The introduction considers how modern intelligent technologies make human-technology trust a relevant and timely topic, while the background section reviews humans’ social interaction with technology. Using social structure and cultural sentiments the author constructs four propositions about trusting technological actors. Two empirical research studies illustrate the cultural sentiment propositions showing trust in technological actors and violation of trust in computers. Throughout the chapter the author connects the sociological literature with everyday examples before providing grounded propositions that would be appropriate foundations for research in multiple disciplines.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/daniel-shank/17/