Trust, fairness, and signaling: studying the interaction between officials and citizens

Abstract

This chapter looks at public sector communication in the bureaucratic encounter, where civil servants and citizens meet. It is argued that signaling theory could be used to understand the interpersonal communication between officials and citizens, and hence, how trustworthiness of both parties is assessed. This chapter discusses various trustworthiness signals that may be sent by the public sector and citizens, and the contexts that could affect their interpretation. Using typical examples of bureaucratic encounters, this chapter discusses the possible consequences of misinterpretations of signals for citizens' attitude and behavior toward the public sector.