Tom R. Tyler

Tom Tyler, professor of psychology at New York University, will write a monograph on trust in the context of citizens' relations with the police and courts. Based on survey research of an ethnically diverse sample of citizens in Oakland and Los Angeles, his work will show how the law can function more effectively if authorities gain the trust of citizens by making decisions in ways citizens view as fair. Tyler will explore the impact of three types of trust: trust in individual police officers or judges with whom one has personal experience, trust in legal authorities in general, and trust in the law-related attitudes of citizens from other ethnic groups. His work has important implications for current debates on how to maintain the legitimacy of state institutions.