As Coleman (1990, 101) observes, misplaced trust typically entails a large loss, while forgone trust entails only a small loss. For example, the lieutenant colonel lost 4,500 rubles—an enormous sum of money at that time—on one interaction in a long series, in which the total benefits from many of the previous interactions might even have been less than this one loss. If his benefit from each successful deal was 300 rubles, it would have taken fifteen successful deals to make up for his one unsuccessful deal. Distrust may therefore come more quickly to us than trust. Moreover, the slightest distrust or even a slight degree of trust can recommend against risking cooperation with someone if the potential loss is typically greater than the potential gain.

XREF: Connects to loss aversion and negativity bias findings in behavioral economics and psychology.

Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, loc. 434