In the light of this reflexivity, personal trust becomes to a significant extent trust in tact and discipline in the way one expresses oneself. In this form, it becomes transparent without its function being lost. Thus, one can see through one's partner's presentation, and, seeing it as a presentation, one is able to weigh and react in a balanced way and assess how far it is likely to go. One can estimate what strains personal trust can take without breaking down, in which role-context it belongs and in which it does not, and where its weak points lie, which should not be exposed – except if one does so intentionally and accepts responsibility for the consequences.

DEFINE: "Reflexivity" in personal trust means the ability to see through the other's presentation while still treating it as a meaningful performance — transparency without loss of function.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 255