The majority of trust research has focused on the benefits trust can have for individual actors, institutions, and organizations. This “optimistic bias” is particularly evident in work focused on institutional trust, where concepts such as procedural justice, shared values, and moral responsibility have gained prominence. But trust in institutions may not be exclusively good. We reveal implications for the “dark side” of institutional trust by reviewing relevant theories and empirical research that can contribute to a more holistic understanding. We frame our discussion by suggesting there may be a “Goldilocks principle” of institutional trust, where trust that is too low (typically the focus) or too high (not usually considered by trust researchers) may be problematic. The chapter focuses on the issue of too-high trust and processes through which such too-high trust might emerge. Specifically, excessive trust might result from external, internal, and intersecting external-internal processes. External processes refer to the actions institutions take that affect public trust, while internal processes refer to intrapersonal factors affecting a trustor’s level of trust. We describe how the beneficial psychological and behavioral outcomes of trust can be mitigated or circumvented through these processes and highlight the implications of a “darkest” side of trust when they intersect. We draw upon research on organizations and legal, governmental, and political systems to demonstrate the dark side of trust in different contexts. The conclusion outlines directions for future research and encourages researchers to consider the ethical nuances of studying how to increase institutional trust.

"After his fiancé's sudden death, a medic-in-training becomes targeted by a spirit with the ability to manipulate thoughts." The compelling question of Something Beautiful is, “What is the price of clinging to internal perceptions?” The central idea of this project is to create a story about a character whose internal conflicts surrounding an event, in this case his boyfriend’s death, end up creating an environment in which those internal perceptions and his adherence to them lead to a potential downfall. Throughout my college experience, almost all of my open-ended work has involved some psychological aspect. The idea of one’s view and experience being vastly different from the truth, with little way of knowing, fascinates me. It’s a powerful way of assembling a story and an inherently nontraditional way of depicting things – one I’ve found works. The brain is a maze and there are countless engaging, innovative ways to depict this maze. The result of this project will be a 10–15-minute festival-ready short film exploring the themes discussed above. Production was a difficult process outside of the capstone system, and editing is underway as of April 2022, with a full release and festival run planned for the summer.