TYPE Original Research

PUBLISHED 18 August 2022

DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.968558

The effect of self-disclosure on

OPEN ACCESS mass trust through TikTok: An
empirical study of short video
EDITED BY
Ping Gao,
The University of Manchester,
United Kingdom

REVIEWED BY
streaming application users
Yung-Hsin Wang,
Tatung University, Taiwan
Hung-Yi Chang, Athapol Ruangkanjanases1 , Ornlatcha Sivarak2*, Din Jong3*
National Kaohsiung University of
Science and Technology, Taiwan and Yajun Zhou4
1
*CORRESPONDENCE Chulalongkorn Business School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, 2 Mahidol University
Ornlatcha Sivarak International College, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, 3 Digital Design and
[email protected] Information Management, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, 4 College
Din Jong of Finance and Economics, Nanchang Institute of Technology, Nanchang, China
[email protected]

SPECIALTY SECTION
This article was submitted to In the short video application scenario, self-disclosure helps to establish and
Organizational Psychology,
a section of the journal
maintain relationships with others, and is important for the formation of mass
Frontiers in Psychology trust. To this end, this study investigates the impact of self-disclosure on mass
RECEIVED 14 June 2022 trust in the context of short video applications based on social exchange
ACCEPTED 26 July 2022 theory, and introduces perceived similarity to explain the specific impact
PUBLISHED 18 August 2022
mechanism while focusing on the boundary conditions of trust disposition
CITATION
Ruangkanjanases A, Sivarak O, Jong D
in it. This study takes TikTok as the research object and analyzes the data
and Zhou Y (2022) The effect of obtained from the questionnaire survey. The empirical test results show that
self-disclosure on mass trust through self-disclosure not only affects mass trust directly, but also indirectly through
TikTok: An empirical study of short
video streaming application users. perceived similarity. In addition, a moderating effect of trust disposition on
Front. Psychol. 13:968558. perceived similarity was found to affect mass trust. The findings of this
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.968558
paper contribute to an in-depth understanding of the potential intermediate
COPYRIGHT mechanisms and boundary conditions of self-disclosure on mass trust, reveal
© 2022 Ruangkanjanases, Sivarak,
Jong and Zhou. This is an open-access the theoretical relationship between self-disclosure and mass trust, bridge
article distributed under the terms of the gap between previous mechanisms of mass trust influence from the
the Creative Commons Attribution
perspective of empirical research, and effectively guide the management
License (CC BY). The use, distribution
or reproduction in other forums is practice of short video applications.
permitted, provided the original
author(s) and the copyright owner(s)
KEYWORDS
are credited and that the original
publication in this journal is cited, in self-disclosure, mass trust, perceived similarity, trust disposition, short video
accordance with accepted academic application, social media
practice. No use, distribution or
reproduction is permitted which does
not comply with these terms.
Introduction
In recent years, short video applications have become one of the fastest growing
mobile Internet segments in terms of daily active user size, and are growing and receiving
continuous attention from academia and industry (Thomas et al., 2019; Zhang, 2021).
Studies have shown that short video applications have penetrated various industries
and influenced all aspects of the public’s life (Sheth and Kellstadt, 2021), enabling
easy information dissemination, communication and sharing among users (Zhang
et al., 2019). Especially with the development of Internet and information technology,

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short video applications have attracted a large number of active potential intermediate mechanisms by which self-disclosure
users and gradually become a common tool for public life and affects mass trust from the perspective of social exchange theory.
socialization (Gao et al., 2020). In this context, short video It also provides relevant empirical research support based on
applications have become the primary tool used by many users existing relevant studies.
to build, maintain and manage relationships with others. Today, According to the social exchange theory (Blau, 1964; Lu
short video applications such as TikTok and quick worker are et al., 2010; Shen et al., 2010; Fu et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2020),
widely available and have become a part of many users’ public perceived similarity is a potential intermediate mechanism
disclosure of their daily lives. In order to maintain good social for the effect of self-disclosure on mass trust in the context
relationships, users of short video applications are disclosing of short video applications, which helps to explain the role
various information such as profiles, posts, comments and of self-disclosure in influencing the relational outcomes of
photos of themselves online (Dwivedi et al., 2021). Short video mass trust, usage behavior, and creativity. Under the influence
applications are designed to build and maintain relationships of self-disclosure, individuals perceive high quality perceived
with people by disclosing information about themselves and similarity relationships with others, and perceived similarity
have the positive aspect of forming social capital (Chen, 2018; tends to inspire personal identity, shared characteristics, and
Tifferet, 2019; Pu et al., 2021). There is no doubt that in an trust (Fu et al., 2018) and motivates individuals to reciprocate by
increasingly competitive market, self-disclosure has become a responding to higher trust and good relationships through short
key issue for short video apps to think about to attract and retain video applications (Lu et al., 2010). For example, like, comment,
users (Walker et al., 2021). retweet and display your own work online. Individuals actively
Self-disclosure is when people present information about express their feelings and thoughts and release repressed
themselves to others, such as personal status, tendencies, past emotions through short video applications, which in turn make
events, and future plans (Choi and Bazarova, 2015; Zhang them an important channel for influencing their social activities,
and Fu, 2020). Therefore, self-disclosure often occurs during and as the degree of this influence increases, so does the self-
communication between people, and all disclosed personal disclosure, thus increasing the trust of others. Moreover, the
information is public (Tsay-Vogel et al., 2018). In general, enhancement of trust is an important factor to promote the
such self-disclosure is a prerequisite for the formation of development of short video applications. However, whether and
social relationships (Aboulnasr et al., 2021). Nowadays, short how self-disclosure affects public trust in the context of short
video applications have become the main channel of online video applications needs to be verified through empirical studies.
communication among the user. In the context of short video Therefore, in order to explore the intermediate mechanisms
applications, users not only engage in positive communication through which self-disclosure affects public trust, this paper
activities (self-disclosure), but also have a greater need to gain will examine how self-disclosure affects public trust through the
the trust of the public. Self-disclosure usually takes into account potential mechanism of perceived similarity. In this paper, we
the outcomes from risks and benefits (Arpaci, 2020). However, will explore this issue in two separate paths: the direct influence
due to the low barriers to entry in the short-video application role of self-disclosure on the trust of large subordinates and the
market, it is often difficult for individuals’ rights and interests in indirect influence role through perceived similarity.
the short-video application scenario to be adequately protected, Although self-disclosure can influence individuals’ trust,
making individuals worry that public disclosure of information existing research “does not know much about whether
will lead to related negative issues, which exacerbates the gradual individuals with different personal characteristics respond
decrease in public trust in short-video applications (Wang and differently to perceived similarity” (Zeng, 2017). Trust
Liu, 2019). disposition is an important measure of an individual’s
Trust becomes more important due to the higher personality traits and dispositional tendencies to trust others
uncertainty faced by the user due to the lack of face-to- (Cheng et al., 2016). Trust disposition is intended to reflect
face interaction with offline and comments from other users. the characteristics that individuals have in themselves, not
In the context of short-form video applications, self-disclosure their trust intention or attitude toward a specific object. Such
helps to mitigate individual perceived uncertainty and risk, individual characteristics are mainly related to the individual’s
plays a positive counteracting role to the risk of privacy cultural background, personality type, and past experiences, and
leakage (Hofstetter et al., 2017), and is an important factor in therefore trust disposition varies greatly among different types
establishing and developing trust among the user. However, of individuals (Lu and Zhou, 2007). Because trust disposition
fewer studies have explored and examined the mechanisms and reflects an individual’s disposition, it usually needs to be
boundary conditions underlying the effect of self-disclosure combined with factors that individuals perceive as reliable in
on mass trust in the context of short-form video applications. order to jointly form trust in others, so trust disposition is often
Given the important role of self-disclosure in the development used as a moderating variable to influence the relationship
of short video applications and mass socialization activities between trustworthiness factors and trust (Gefen, 2000). Mo
(Thompson and Brindley, 2021), this study investigates the and Luo (2019) suggest that trust disposition may influence the

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role of perceived similarity on individual trust. Trust disposition process of interaction, both parties communicate, and others
is not only one of the cultural values that receive the most can perceive their own exchange value from the process of
attention in virtual contexts such as short video applications communication. In the context of short video applications, as
(Grabner-Kräuter, 2009), but is also the moderating variable a formal exchange mechanism aspect and important research
most closely related to the study of social interactions (Jiang, variable was self-disclosure. Self-disclosure refers to the process
2017; Shi et al., 2021). Therefore, based on existing studies by which individuals reveal their thoughts, feelings, and
(Zhou and Xu, 2021), this study further investigated the role of experiences to others. Simply put, self-disclosure was the act of
individual differences in personal cultural values moderating individuals actively disclosing personal information to others
the effect of self-disclosure on trust, i.e., it further examines (Tsai and Ghoshal, 1998); the variable studied as an informal
the effect of culturally specific personal trust disposition on exchange mechanism was trust. Trust was a social exchange
the relationship between perceived similarity and mass trust behavior carried out in self-disclosure and trust of others,
moderating role. and the characteristics of the relationship between the two
parties are the condition and basis of social exchange, and
the formal and informal exchange mechanisms complement
Theoretical foundation and each other to ensure the smooth process of social exchange;
hypothesis development and perceived similarity was regarded as an important variable
representing the characteristics of both parties of exchange.
Social exchange theory In the context of self-disclosure, individuals can infer their
similarity to the discloser from the self-disclosure information,
Homans (1958) proposed the core view of social exchange generate interpersonal attraction, hold high identification and
theory: all human behavior was exchange behavior, including positive evaluation of the discloser, and thus form trust. From
material and immaterial exchange; human beings participate in a social exchange perspective, when individuals engage in self-
exchange behavior to satisfy their own interests, and rationally disclosure, they expect others to self-disclose as well, exchanging
calculate their own payoffs and rewards in the exchange, trying information or initiating interactions with each other, a process
to achieve fair exchange. Social exchange theory suggested that that increased mutual intimacy (Park et al., 2011). Therefore, this
individuals need to reciprocate the value they have received study explores how self-disclosure affects perceived similarity
in social interactions in order to maintain the benefits of and thus mass trust based on short video application contexts
the relationship, i.e., to maintain a positive relationship by from social exchange theory.
performing behaviors that benefit the other person, which was a
“reciprocal need” that drives the social exchange behavior (Yu,
2004). The values and benefits obtained from the interaction
directly drive individuals to form identification, attachment, and Self-disclosure and mass trust
willingness to maintain the relationship with the other party, and
in order to continue to benefit from the interaction, individuals Self-disclosure refers to an individual’s ability to reveal
were motivated to construct and maintain the relationship previously unknown information to the public and make it
by performing behaviors that benefit the other party, which shared knowledge, with the goal of creating good emotional
essentially belong to the category of social exchange (Gouldner, bonds with the public and increasing public trust in the self
1960). Social exchange theory was a theory that studies social (Joinson and Paine, 2007; Towner et al., 2022). Self-disclosure
interactions and exchange relationships between individuals or contributes to the development of intimacy, and as intimacy
organizations, which was based on two important assumptions. develops, the depth and breadth of self-disclosure increases
Namely, the assumption of tendency to avoid harm in terms (Gentina and Chen, 2018). This, in turn, further promotes an
of human nature and the assumption of reciprocal dependence emotional response to the intimate relationship between the
in terms of interpersonal relationships (Blau, 2017). The core masses and the self (Hollenbaugh, 2011; Wang and Stefanone,
logic was that human exchange behavior was based on rewards 2013; Chen et al., 2018). Research shows that the self-disclosure
and costs, and individuals were motivated to exchange if the of online information varies depending on the context, and
exchange can produce was positive and positive outcomes. the online context makes the self-disclosure significantly higher
Social exchange includes formal exchange mechanisms about than the offline condition due to the interaction, communication
money, goods, and services based on contractual behaviors, and exchange between users (Jiang et al., 2011; Fox et al.,
and informal exchange mechanisms based on non-contractual 2021). In this sense, individual self-disclosure strategies may
behaviors such as gratitude, pleasure, approval, appreciation, play a crucial role in the expected interpersonal relationships
love, and stimulation (Zhang and Xuna, 2016). in the short video application scenario, where the user tends
Based on the social exchange perspective, individual self- to be placed in an environment of decreasing information
disclosure on short videos attracts others to interact, and in the uncertainty, which in turn motivates information publishers to

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keep disclosing information (Gibbs et al., 2011; Christofides and behaviors, thereby attracting more disclosure (Rosenberg
et al., 2012; Tokas, 2022). and Egbert, 2011; Wei and Liu, 2020).
In the short video application scenario, mass trust is a Like previous social media, short-form video applications
central issue affecting online interpersonal interactions and plays are by their nature virtual platforms built around users’
an important role in intimate relationships. Existing research interpersonal relationships, and thus are not anonymous
suggested that in intimate relationships, mass trust was hardly environments. Instead, short video applications provide users
constructed spontaneously by individuals, but was based on with an open platform through which they can generate content
third-party assurance and advice, and that mass trust cannot be and selectively self-disclosure to build and manage their image
enhanced without a stable and reliable third party (Lane and and identity (Walther et al., 2009). Self-disclosure not only helps
Bachmann, 1996). Based on this, in the short video application users present themselves from multiple perspectives, such as
scenario, mass trust can be established through the mechanism values, interests, attitudes, preferences, etc., but also the more
based on the short video application platform, for example, and more information self-disclosure presents, the more it helps
according to the constraints of the platform, individuals have to others infer individuals with similar characteristics to themselves
self-disclosure of information (Grov et al., 2013; Zhong et al., from publicly disclosed information, thus increasing perceived
2021). similarity (Hooi and Cho, 2014).
The study shows that self-disclosure as proactive disclosure One of the key features of short-form video applications
of relevant information to users mainly includes basic personal is user-generated content. Researchers have found that short
information, interests, values and other voluntary disclosures video applications, such as TikTok, allow users to display self-
(Chen, 2013). Self-disclosure by individuals on a virtual platform disclosure in a way that they are very aware of their self-
can bring interpersonal trust, commitment, and intimacy closer presentation strategies (Rosenberg and Egbert, 2011; Solomonov
and facilitate relationship development among individuals (Park and Barber, 2018) and create identities. In more detail,
et al., 2011; Ramos et al., 2019). On the one hand, users realize individuals with higher self-disclosure characteristics are more
self-disclosure through the process of gradually presenting likely to engage in self-promotional content or behavior on
personal information on short video applications, and the short videos and better present themselves on large social
process of information disclosure can promote the masses’ networks (Mehdizadeh, 2010; Ong et al., 2011; Carpenter,
dynamic understanding of self, thus reducing the uncertainty 2012; Malloch and Zhang, 2019), thus attracting friends who
of the masses’ perception of self and mitigating the masses’ share their interests. To elaborate, TikTok self-disclosure creates
perceived risk, thus increasing mass trust (Gibbs et al., 2006; opportunities for users to selectively present themselves with
Wang and Stefanone, 2013; Li et al., 2018). On the other hand, highly self-controlled content so that others can form perceived
self-disclosure is a form of social exchange, and self-disclosure similarity based on the selective disclosure. Self-disclosure is the
will increase the possibility of interaction between the public and act of making oneself known to the public; it was the process
the self, which will enhance the public’s sense of familiarity and by which individuals actively reveal personal information, and
intimacy with the self and increase trust in intimate relationships this process can trigger perceived similarity among the public
(Deng et al., 2021). Clearly, self-disclosure helps to enhance (Solomonov and Barber, 2019). Good interaction between
others’ trust in the self. Based on the aforementioned arguments, users on short video applications positively affects perceived
we hypothesize the following. similarity, which in turn generates interpersonal attraction and
H1: Self-disclosure is positively related to mass trust. raises relationship levels (Pechmann et al., 2021). In particular,
when the self-disclosure information is more adequate, it will
lead to more people perceiving stronger similarity and thus
Self-disclosure and perceived similarity higher perceived similarity to the individual who publicly
discloses the information. Self-disclosure is an important
Perceived similarity is an important antecedent influencing antecedent variable affecting perceived similarity (Tran et al.,
factor of interpersonal attraction (Solomonov and Barber, 2018). 2022). As such, we expect that brand identity will drive
Wang and Stefanone (2013) considered perceived similarity consumers to attain higher purchase intention.
as the degree of similarity between perceived others and H2: Self-disclosure is positively related to
themselves in terms of values, interests, attitudes, preferences, perceived similarity.
etc. Therefore, self-disclosure on short video applications may
be considered as a general pattern of behavior in the context of
large audiences. With the increase in individual self-disclosure Perceived similarity and mass trust
information and the construction of user identities (Pechmann
et al., 2021), individuals with a strong desire to be identified with Perceived similarity facilitates the establishment of trust
the public tend to use strategies that are perceived as positive and mechanisms and has a positive impact on the establishment and
worthy of replication to demonstrate desirable characteristics development of mass trust. Perceived similarity is a necessary

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prerequisite for the establishment of mass trust, and trust is Perceived similarity is an important measure to assess whether
the response of individuals who feel similar to the discloser users on social applications share common characteristics
in terms of characteristics such as vision, values and rules among themselves, including demographic characteristics such
of behavior (Lu et al., 2010; Crijns et al., 2017). From a as individual interests, hobbies, values, and consumption levels
social psychological perspective, relationship satisfaction was (Lu et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2017; Zhan and Du, 2018; Yan and
influenced by perceived similarity in a relational context (Pearce Fu, 2021). Perceived similarity motivates individuals to strongly
et al., 2019), which supports the positive impact of perceived prefer relationships with people who have similar characteristics
similarity on trusting behavior from the evidence. The literature to themselves (Lu et al., 2010). Thus, the hypothesis that
on marketing suggests that individuals’ behaviors, goals, and perceived similarity can lead to attraction between individuals
policies reflect shared interests and value orientations between has been proposed and tested, and individuals also prefer those
the interacting parties and are important antecedents for with similar attitudes (Fisher, 1974) or interests (Martin et al.,
assessing the influence of perceived similarity on audience trust 2013). In addition, Guéguen et al. (2011) also demonstrated
in self. Mass trust in intimate relationships was significantly that perceived similarity has a facilitating effect on people’s
influenced by perceived similarity based on shared values and implicit behavior. Lu et al. (2010), using a virtual community
beliefs (Dwyer et al., 1987; Morgan and Hunt, 1997; Siegrist and setting as a research context, further confirmed that perceived
Hartmann, 2020). similarity plays a significant influence on the construction of
The same trust mechanisms exist for intimate relationships trust processes among online users in a study to verify whether
in virtual contexts. For example, in a book recommendation perceived similarity has a positive relationship on trust of other
system, individuals tend to adopt recommendations that are users in the community, and also found that the effect of self-
more similar to their values and beliefs (Ziegler and Golbeck, disclosure on trust is mediated by perceived similarity.
2007; Zeng et al., 2019). When people gather in the same short According to the social response theory proposed by Reeves
video application platform, they tend to view others on that and Nass (1996), people will apply realistic social norms to
platform in a positive way, which apparently enhances their trust computers with human characteristics. Thus, in short video
(McKnight et al., 1998; Casalo et al., 2013). Perceived similarity application contexts, perceived similarity can reduce reactions
may involve several aspects such as demographic characteristics, by increasing compliance and reducing resistance as well as
interests, and values, so mass trust can be formed through facilitating individuals to accept the information provided by
similarity of individuals in terms of characteristics, interests, and the communicator, stimulating connections with other members
values. The general masses are prone to identify with individuals of the community, and can increase trust relationships. This
whose values are similar to theirs, and this identification usually type of perceived similarity can be based on the individual’s
leads to trust in the identified individual (Boyd et al., 2019). self-disclosure (So, 2018). For example, individuals present
As the degree of similarity between individuals’ perceptions demographic information about themselves to the user through
and others increases, the level of mass trust in self will short video applications (Hitsch et al., 2010; He et al., 2016), as
gradually increase. well as aspects of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Social
Therefore, the positive effect of high-perceived similarity psychological research on interpersonal attraction has shown
between individuals with mass trust was enhanced in the that self-disclosure is an important means for individuals to
short video application context with trust disposition, quality- develop online relationships. With self-disclosure, individuals
assured shared information, familiarity, and other third-party find friends who share similar characteristics with them and
endorsements. Given that individuals and the user have similar achieve trust building (Pearce et al., 2019). When individuals
value characteristics, the user can form perceived risks to search for and interact with friends with similar values to their
individuals based on common goals or interests, thus enhancing own through the public information of self-disclosure, they will
their trust in individuals; when the user relates to individuals experience smoother communication and better understanding,
with more consistent similarity, they can achieve better and they will be able to predict each other’s reactions and thus be
communication and understanding, reduce disagreements and more likely to elicit trust from others. Comprehensive analysis
conflicts, enhance mutual intimacy, and thus increase trust. of the above, we thus hypothesize:
Taken together, perceived similarity has a positive effect on H4: Self-disclosure and mass trust are mediated by
mass trust. perceived similarity.
H3: Perceived similarity is positively related to mass trust.

Moderating role of trust disposition

Mediating role of perceived similarity
Trust disposition is the tendency to assess the extent to
Currently, the concept of perceived similarity is widely which the individuals trusts others (Cheng et al., 2016). Trust
studied in the fields of sociology, psychology and marketing. disposition is not disturbed by the external environment but is

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associated with personal characteristics (Cheng et al., 2016), and

it works on the premise that others are usually well-meaning,
reliable, and ethical. Studies have argued that trust disposition
appears to be more important in situations where the context
and type of relationship is unknown (Shen et al., 2010; Fu et al.,
2018). The relative lack of “media richness” in the short-form
video application scenario presents many uncertain risks and
hidden concerns that could adversely affect the enhancement
of mass trust (Daft et al., 1987; Cheng et al., 2016). Although
the popularity of intimate relationships on virtual platforms
FIGURE 1
such as Facebook, MySpace, and Bebo has grown dramatically, Theoretical model.
supported by information technology, and in opposition to
previous theories about people’s ability to trust online. However,
at a practical level, individuals are more willing to interact
through short video application platforms and to post comments
H5: Perceived similarity and mass trust are moderated by
and share personal opinions, suggesting to some extent that the
trust disposition.
public’s level of trust concerns about virtual platforms has eased
In summary, this study proposes a research model as shown
or, indeed, that they have less control over tools and technologies
in Figure 1.
that interfere with trust. An important feature of the short
video application scenario is trust disposition, which has been
confirmed in previous studies that trust disposition responds Methods
positively to the development of mass trust and the deepening
of self-disclosure (Castelfranchi and Falcone, 1998). Participants and procedure
Research has shown that in virtual contexts, although users
can graft emotional ties with individuals through technology, In this study, TikTok was chosen as the research sample.
technology itself does not have an emotional function, making The reason for choosing TikTok as the research object is that
it difficult to provide intimate connections to the public because since its launch on September 20, 2016, TikTok has been a
the balance between building deep trust lies in social factors short video community platform for all ages, through which
and the “natural language” connection between users. Therefore, users can upload short videos to share and record their good
in the context of short video applications, the establishment lives. Currently, TikTok has become the most influential and
of mass trust also needs to be moderated by social factors representative short video application in China. This study
and the “natural language” between users (Kolb et al., 2008), adopted a questionnaire survey to collect data and mainly
and the propensity to trust is an important indicator of social adopted an online platform to distribute questionnaires. The
factors and the “natural language” between users. It is an method was to generate a web-based questionnaire with the
important indicator of the “natural language” between social help of the web platform provided by “Questionnaire Star”, and
factors and users. It reflects human-computer (or system) then publish the link to the questionnaire through WECHAT. In
trust, interpersonal trust relationships and personality trust, order to improve the efficiency of the questionnaire collection,
as well as risks and attitudes and potential benefits (Cheng a reward of six RMB was given to each user who fills in the
et al., 2016). In the short video application context, when the questionnaire effectively. The questionnaire survey was started
individual’s trust disposition is higher, his perceived similarity on November 9, 2021 and ended on January 16, 2022. A total of
is also stronger, and when the individual’s perceived similarity 432 questionnaires were distributed through this method, and
keeps increasing, the mass trust in him also increases. In other 395 valid questionnaires were obtained after eliminating invalid
words, when the individual’s trust disposition keeps increasing, questionnaires, with a sample validity rate of 91.4%. The details
the perceived similarity also increases, and the establishment are shown in Table 1.
and development of mass trust also increases. Clearly, as trust
disposition increases, the positive effect of perceived similarity
on mass trust follows. Conversely, as trust disposition decreases, Measures
the positive effect of perceived similarity on mass trust also
decreases. It can be inferred that in the short video application To ensure good reliability and validity of the variables in the
context, the individual’s trust disposition has a moderating effect study, all the scales in this study were borrowed from the more
on perceived similarity and mass trust. Comprehensive analysis established scales in previous studies. The scale measures and
of the above, we thus hypothesize: literature sources are shown in Table 2.

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TABLE 1 Descriptive statistical analysis. Heterotrait-Monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations

was used to evaluate the discriminant validity. HTMT
Variables Item Frequency %
should be significantly smaller than 0.90 in order to
Gender Male 128 32.4
evidently distinguish between two constrcuts (Henseler
Female 267 67.6
et al., 2015, 2016). Table 4 reports the discriminant validity
Age (year) 19 or less 47 11.9
for the outer model. As shown in Table 4, HTMT ratios
20–29 288 72.9
for each pair are smaller than 0.9; the results indicate
that all constructs are explicitly distinguished of each
30–39 18 4.6
other. Therefore, discriminant validity is satisfied in
40–49 22 5.6
this research.
50 or above 20 5.1
Marriage Married 58 14.7
Unmarried 334 84.6
Divorce 3 .8
Inner model results
Occupation Student 270 68.4
We examined the proposed research hypotheses with
Freelance 17 4.3
the results of inner model. The details of the hypothesis
Executive in private enterprise 17 4.3
testing are shown in Table 5. Self-disclosure (t-value =
Civil servant 33 8.4
2.110, p-value < 0.05) is positively related to mass trust.
Clerk in state owned enterprise 20 5.1
Therefore, H1 is significant and supported. That is, self-
Executive in private enterprise 38 9.6
disclosure has a significant and positive effect on mass
Education College and blow 22 5.6
trust. Self-disclosure (t-value = 11.584, p-value < 0.001)
Undergraduate 52 13.2
is positively related to perceived similarity. Therefore, H2
Master’s degree and above 321 81.3
is verified and supported. That is, self-disclosure has a
Consumption (RMB) Below 2,00 160 40.5
significant and positive effect on perceived similarity. Perceived
2,000–3,999 104 26.3
similarity (t-value = 5.997, p-value < 0.001) is positively
4,000–5,999 57 14.4
related to mass trust. Therefore, H3 is supported. That is,
6,000 or more 74 18.7 perceived similarity has a significant and positive effect on
Continuous use time (year) Within 6 months 96 24.3 mass trust.
6 months to 1 69 17.5 According to Hayes (2009), this study used bootstrap
1–2 136 34.4 estimation technique to calculate the mediating effect. That
Over 3 94 23.8 is, if zero is not included between lower bound and upper
bound of bias-corrected 95% confidence and both t-value >
1.96 and p-value < 0.05 are satisfied, the mediation effect
is indicated to be significant. In this study, the results of
Data analysis and results the mediating effects analysis were as shown in Table 6. The
total effect of self-disclosure on mass trust is 0.372. At the
Outer model evaluation 95% confidence level, zero does not include the bias-corrected
95% confidence interval range (t-value = 5.978; p-value <
This study analyzes the outer model according to the views 0.001). Therefore, there is a total effect exists. The indirect
of previous related scholars (Anderson and Gerbing, 1998; effect of self-disclosure on mass trust is 0.272, zero does
Hair et al., 2017). Specifically, if standardized factor Loadings not include the bias-corrected 95% confidence interval range
> 0.70 for each scale, Cronbach’s Alpha > 0.60, rho_A > (t-value = 4.167; p-value < 0.001). Therefore, the indirect
0.60, Composite Reliability (CR) > 0.60, and Average Variance effect exists in the proposed model. Then, the direct effect of
Extracted (AVE) > 0.50 for each factor, it indicates that the self-disclosure on mass trust is 0.099, zero does not include
outer model of this research owns convergent validity. The the bias-corrected 95% confidence interval range (t-value =
results of outer model are shown in Table 3. The range of 2.037; p-value < 0.01). Therefore, there is a direct effect
factor loadings are between 0.726 and 0.924, Cronbach’s Alpha in the proposed model. Thus, above results of the study
is between 0.773 and 0.878, rho_A is between 0.788 and 0.881, show that H4 is significant and perceived similarity has the
CR is between 0.854 and 0.919, and AVE is between 0.594 partial mediation.
and 0.790. Thus, the results of standardized factor Loadings, The moderating effects are reported in Table 7. In the present
Cronbach’s Alpha, rho_A, CR and AVE meet the CFA criteria. study, trust disposition (TD) is the moderating variable. The
Therefore, this indicates that this study has the acceptable results of structural equation modeling have been shown that the
convergent validity. moderator effect of perceived similarity (PS) × trust disposition

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TABLE 2 Variables and measurement item.

Construct Item content References

Self-disclosure SD1. I often talk about my feelings on TikTok Hollenbaugh, 2011; Wang and Stefanone, 2013
SD2. I often post something about my relationships and private life on TikTok.
SD3. I often post photos of me and my friends on TikTok.
SD4. I often express my thoughts and true self completely on TikTok.
Mass trust MT1. Individuals in TikTok are in general reliable. Pavlou and Gefen, 2004; Gibreel et al., 2018
MT2. Individuals in TikTok are in general honest.
MT3. Individuals in TikTok are in general trustworthy.
Perceived similarity PS1. I share similar goals with some members on TikTok. Lu et al., 2010
PS2. I share similar interests with some members on TikTok.
PS3. I share similar aesthetic tastes with some members on TikTok.
PS4. I share similar shopping experiences with some members on TikTok.
Trust disposition TD1. I generally trust other people. Cheng et al., 2019
TD2. I feel that people are generally well meaning.
TD3. I feel that people are generally trustworthy.
TD4. I feel that people are generally reliable.

TABLE 3 Outer model results.

Variables Items Factor loadings Cronbach’s alpha rho_A CR AVE

Self-disclosure (SD) SD1 0.821 0.773 0.788 0.854 0.594

SD2 0.760
SD3 0.772
SD4 0.726
Mass trust (MT) MT1 0.869 0.867 0.868 0.919 0.790
MT2 0.891
MT3 0.906
Perceived similarity (PS) PS1 0.880 0.878 0.881 0.917 0.734
PS2 0.906
PS3 0.820
PS4 0.818
Trust disposition (TD) TD1 0.832 0.877 0.881 0.916 0.732
TD2 0.816
TD3 0.924
TD4 0.846

SD, Self-Disclosure; MS, Mass Trust; PS, Perceived Similarity; TD, Trust Disposition.

(TD) on self-disclosure (SD) is 0.067 (T Statistics = |2.380| Research and discussion

> 1.96, p-value < 0.05), implying the presence of a positive
moderating effect of trust disposition (TD) on the relationship Conclusion
between perceived similarity (PS) and self-disclosure (SD).
Specifically, the slope of perceived similarity (PS) on self- First, the results of data analysis indicate that self-disclosure
disclosure (SD) increases positively by 0.067 units for each 1- has a significant effect on mass trust. The findings are consistent
unit increase in the moderating variable trust disposition (TD). with the results of Gibbs et al. (2006), Wang and Stefanone
That is, trust disposition (TD) has a positive moderating effect. (2013), Li et al. (2018), and Deng et al. (2021). It is speculated
Therefore, H5 is significant. that the reason for this may be that self-disclosure usually

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TABLE 4 Results of discriminant validity by HTMT. others. In short video application contexts, the main factors that
generate interpersonal attraction are similarity, reciprocity, and
Mass trust Perceived Self-disclosure
agreeable characteristics. In addition, interpersonal attraction
similarity
can have an impact on people’s perceptions and behaviors.
Perceived similarity 0.859
On the one hand, the attracted person tends to align with
Self-disclosure 0.746 0.709
the attractor and is therefore more receptive to the attractor’s
Trust disposition 0.850 0.783 0.802
behaviors, perspectives, and attitudes, resulting in higher
identification and more positive evaluations of the attractor. On
SD, Self-Disclosure; MS, Mass Trust; PS, Perceived Similarity; TD, Trust Disposition. the other hand, the attracted person also voluntarily increases
the frequency, breadth, and intensity of communication with
TABLE 5 Regression coefficient. the attractor in order to obtain rewarding stimuli and experience
positive emotions from the process.
Path Path Standard t-value p-value
Third, the results of data analysis showed that perceived
coefficient deviation
similarity had a significant effect on mass trust. The findings
H1: SD → MT 0.099 0.047 2.110 0.035
are consistent with those of Dwyer et al. (1987), Morgan and
H2: SD → PS 0.597 0.052 11.584 0.000
Hunt (1997), and McKnight et al. (1998). It is speculated
H3: PS → MT 0.456 0.076 5.997 0.000
that the reason may be that perceived similarity tends to
produce cognitive consistency, and individuals usually believe
SD, Self-Disclosure; MT, Mass Trust; PS, Perceived Similarity. in other individuals who are similar to themselves. A study
by Fu et al. (2018) showed that interpersonal similarity
has a positive effect on interpersonal trust. According to
brings psychological utility to people. From the perspective of interpersonal attraction theory, perceived similarity triggers
social exchange, when individuals engage in self-disclosure, they interpersonal attraction, i.e., individuals are easily attracted to
expect others to self-disclose as well, exchanging information people who are similar to themselves. Interpersonal attraction
or interacting with each other, and this process increases the affects individuals’ perceptions of others; individuals usually
intimacy between each other. In terms of psychological utility, have higher identification with those who are attracted to them
self-disclosure develops interpersonal relationships, from which and tend to make positive evaluations. In addition, interpersonal
people can gain social support, enhance their own wellbeing, and attraction affects individuals’ behavior, as individuals tend to
promote the deeper development of trust. In the short video interact with those who are attracted to them and expect to
application context, individuals should easily pay attention to increase the frequency and depth of their interactions.
each other’s feelings about themselves when self-disclosure, so In the context of short video applications, since the public
that they can assess their own motivation before self-disclosure and individuals have similar characteristics, the public can
(venting their emotions or wanting to enhance their feelings infer the traits of individuals based on their own knowledge,
with each other, etc.), as well as their emotional changes after thus reducing uncertainty about individuals and increasing
self-disclosure, and feel whether the other party has established mass trust. When people interact with similar individuals, they
an emotional connection and empathy with themselves or has can achieve better communication and understanding, reduce
been infected by their own emotions. In other words, self- disagreements and conflicts, and enhance their intimacy, thus
disclosure with breadth and depth can increase others’ good increasing their trust in them. Therefore, as the degree of
feelings, trust and satisfaction with intimacy. When the ego similarity between individuals and others increases, individuals’
wants to develop further relationships with others, it can use the trust in the user will gradually increase.
convenience of short-view applications to share some personal Fourth, the results of data analysis verified the mediating
daily life, or the ego’s attitude and feelings about things. role of perceived similarity on the relationship between self-
Second, the results of data analysis verified the significant disclosure and mass trust. The findings are consistent with
effect of self-disclosure on perceived similarity. The results of the inferences of Hitsch et al. (2010), Liu et al. (2017), Zhan
the study are consistent with those of Mehdizadeh (2010), Ong and Du (2018), and Yan and Fu (2021). In the context
et al. (2011), and Carpenter (2012). Self-disclosure can stimulate of short video applications, interactions between individuals
stimulation of positive emotions in others, and people tend to affect the generation of perceived similarity, which in turn
seek out stimuli with positive experiences in order to experience stimulates intimacy such as interpersonal trust and thus a
positive emotions. Moreover, people associate self-disclosure, series of attraction effects. In the short video application
positive emotions with specific others and develop positive context, if individuals publicly disclose richer information, then
attitudes toward others. In other words, once people experience individuals can rely on self-disclosure of public information
positive emotions in interactions with others, they will hold to inspire others to produce perceived similarity and use it
a positive attitude toward others, i.e., they are attracted to as a means of attracting others and determining perceptions

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TABLE 6 Mediation effect.

Path Effect Standard deviation t-value Bias corrected 95% lower bound Bias corrected 95% upper bound

Total effect: SD → MT 0.372*** 0.062 5.978 0.260 0.502

Indirect effect: SD → PS → MT 0.272*** 0.065 4.167 0.175 0.429
Direct effect: SD → MT 0.099** 0.049 2.037 0.013 0.190

***p-value < 0.001.

**p-value < 0.05.
SD, Self-Disclosure; MT, Mass Trust; PS, Perceived Similarity.

TABLE 7 The analysis of moderating effect.

Dependent variable Independent variable Path coefficient Standard deviation T Statistics

Mass trust (MT) Perceived similarity (PS) 0.456*** 0.076 5.997

Trust disposition (TD) 0.381*** 0.078 4.857
Perceived similarity (PS) × Trust disposition (TD) 0.067* 0.028 2.380

*p < 0.05.
***p < 0.001.

and behaviors toward others. In the context of individual individuals are less likely to trust others, so even if individuals
self-disclosure, individuals can infer from self-disclosure that have more perceived similarity, it is difficult for them to have
they are similar to similar individuals, generate interpersonal a higher degree of trust in individuals. On the contrary, when
attraction, hold high identification and positive evaluation of individuals’ trust disposition is high, individuals are more likely
individuals, and thus form trust in individuals. Related studies to trust others, and the more individuals perceived similarity,
have shown that good interaction between users in short the higher their trust will be. It can be seen that individual trust
video application contexts positively affects perceived similarity, disposition promotes the positive effect of perceived similarity
which in turn stimulates interpersonal attraction and raises on mass trust, i.e., the higher the individual trust disposition, the
relationship levels. It can be inferred that the more adequate greater the positive effect of perceived similarity on mass trust.
information about an individual’s self-disclosure, the stronger
similarity the individual perceives and the higher the level of
trust in the individual. Theoretical contributions
Fifth, the results of data analysis showed that trust
disposition has a moderating effect on the relationship between First, empirical studies on the factors influencing mass trust
perceived similarity and mass trust. The findings are consistent are relatively limited, except for the studies by Wang and
with the inferences of Daft et al. (1987), Shen et al. (2010), Stefanone (2013) and Li et al. (2018), Previous studies have
Cheng et al. (2016), and Fu et al. (2018). Trust disposition mainly explored the motives for the formation of public trust
reflects the characteristics that individuals have in themselves, and its mechanisms of action from a qualitative perspective.
not the trust intention or attitude of individuals toward a Therefore, the research results lack the support of empirical tests,
specific object. This individual characteristic is mainly related to and the accuracy of the research findings is questioned. This
the individual’s cultural background, life environment and past study analyzes the data collected from the questionnaire survey
experiences, so there will be large or significant differences in by means of structural equation modeling. Therefore, this study
the trust disposition of different individuals. Trust disposition fills the gap in the research on the factors influencing public trust
reflects individual disposition, and when it is combined with to some extent and enriches the results of empirical research in
individual perceived similarity in perceiving the trustworthiness the field of public trust.
of others, it can promote positive influence of individual Second, this research discusses the mechanisms by which
perceived similarity on mass trust and work together to self-disclosure affects mass trust based on social exchange
strengthen the trust formed in mass, so trust disposition as theory. According to the specificity of short video usage context,
a moderating variable can influence the relationship between the mediating role of perceived similarity and the moderating
individual perceived similarity and mass trust. In the short video role of trust disposition are introduced into the empirical
application context, when individuals’ trust disposition is low, research model of the relationship between self-disclosure and

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mass trust, which extends the extension of the theoretical stronger the effect of perceived similarity on mass trust. In this
framework and enhances the generalizability of the study regard, short video applications should focus their investments
findings. Therefore, this study reveals and enriches the research on gathering such users, cultivating and maintaining users with
perspective and content of self-disclosure and mass trust by higher levels of trust disposition, thus significantly influencing
exploring the relationship between “how self-disclosure affects the role of perceived similarity driving mass trust. However,
mass trust”. for users with low levels of trust disposition, the impact of
Third, this study further tested that the effect of individual perceived similarity on mass trust may be more moderate as
self-disclosure on mass trust increased as the level of trust the level of trust disposition changes. For such users, short
disposition increased, i.e., trust disposition had a moderating video applications can focus on the traditional marketing
role in the relationship between self-disclosure predicting mass strategy level, i.e., increase investment in the construction
trust. Therefore, this article explores the impact of self-disclosure of self-disclosure and mass trust relationships. For example,
on public trust through structural equation modeling, which creating better intimacy for users by optimizing the quality of
fills the gap of previous studies on the impact of public trust in information disclosure.
terms of empirical research, enriches the mediating mechanism
of explaining public trust from the perspective of self-disclosure,
and provides a reference for future related research. Research limitations and future research
directions
Practical implications First, this study suffers from data statics and cross-sectional
limitations. The data collected in this study provided initial
First, enhancing self-disclosure is an important driver of support for the hypothesis, but because the key variables were
motivating mass trust. This study shows that individual’s self-reported at the same time, it resulted in data analysis results
self-disclosure has a significant positive effect on mass trust. that were subject to common method bias. Although statistically
Therefore, short-video applications should pay attention to the validated to have a small effect, this may still increase the error in
relevance of formulating constrained individual disclosures, and the data analysis (Podsakoff et al., 2012). In addition, although
play a catalytic role in stimulating individual self-disclosure. hypothesis testing has well established a positive relationship
In addition, through policy guidance, users are made aware of between self-disclosure and mass trust, it is still not possible to
the importance of self-disclosure in the context of short video infer the direction of the relationship between self-disclosure
applications. Self-disclosure not only reduces mass’ perceived and mass trust from cross-sectional data. Therefore, in future
uncertainty, but also creates a sense of familiarity and intimacy studies, these limitations can be addressed using a two-wave
among individuals, thus enhancing intimacy. In terms of specific online panel sample and a dynamic tracking method to examine
measures, individuals can present their similarity to the target the trend of mass trust to enhance the persuasiveness and rigor
group in terms of values, interests and attitudes on short video of the study findings.
applications, thus enhancing mass trust. Second, although this study uses TikTok as a sample to
Second, establishing high-quality perceived similarity is an collect data and the findings are significantly representative,
effective strategy to indirectly enhance mass trust. The results the sample scope of this study is from China and the
of this study suggest that self-disclosure can have an indirect theoretical nature of the findings needs to be further validated
positive impact on mass trust through the mediating role of by different short video applications in a larger context.
perceived similarity. Therefore, individuals can alleviate self- Therefore, future research can conduct data collection in a
stress, loneliness and isolation through the disclosure of quality broader scope, such as Twitter, Facebook, KakaoTalk and other
information on short video applications, drive others to generate foreign short video applications with obvious social features.
identification with self, get warmth, get help and love from it, A larger sample group can be used for group comparison
and thus eliminate or reduce the sense of stress, loneliness and analysis, even for short video applications in foreign developed
isolation, i.e., gain perceived similarity. Therefore, individuals countries; individual differences in different cultures and
get to know more friends through short video applications, regional and national contexts can be explored to provide
maintain communication and contact, gain friendship, support marketing strategies for short video applications in different
and respect, and thus gain a sense of belonging such as identity, market segments, thus enhancing the generalizability of the
which in turn further enhances the trust formed between research results.
individuals on the basis of perceived similarity.
Third, segmentation of target markets is an effective way
to classify and meet the differential needs of different groups. Data availability statement
This study finds that trust disposition positively moderates the
relationship between perceived similarity and mass trust. This The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will
indicates that the higher the level of trust disposition is, the be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

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Ethics statement Conflict of interest

Ethical review and approval were not required for The authors declare that the research was conducted in the
the study on human participants in accordance with the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could
local legislation and institutional requirements. Informed be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
consent was obtained from all subjects involved in
the study.
Publisher’s note
Author contributions
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
Conceptualization and methodology: AR, OS, and DJ. authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated
Formal analysis and investigation: YZ. Writing original draft organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the
and writing-review and editing, AR, OS, DJ, and YZ. All reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or
authors have read and agreed to the published version of claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed
the article. or endorsed by the publisher.

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