THE RANGE OF INTERPERSONAL TRUST, BELIEFS ABOUT THE SOCIAL WORLD AND INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL EXPERIENCES. TWO KINDS OF TRUST AND THEIR ROLE IN A SOCIAL CAPITAL

A starting point of the analyses presented in this article is characteristic for Polish society low level of trust in people, which is accompanied by high level of declared social bonds with close and familiar people, especially with family. On a basis of results coming from nation-wide representative random sample (n = 891) authors show the following regularities: 1) trust in people and trust in familiars seem to be different and almost independent dimensions; 2) generalized trust in people is deeply rooted in social beliefs about the nature of human being and human relations; while trust in familiars is strongly rooted in positive interpersonal experiences and social bonds; 3) only trust in familiars seems to create social capital, i.e. is linked with institutional civic involvement.