# More Similar Values, More Trust? -- the Effect of Value Similarity on Trust in Human-Agent Interaction

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.09222 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.09222/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 1 of its 37 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 May 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [A Value-based Trust Assessment Model for Multi-agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.13380/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Trust in AI: Progress, Challenges, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.14680/) (2024)
- [Understanding AI Trustworthiness: A Scoping Review of AIES & FAccT Articles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.21293/) (2025)
- [An Empirical Exploration of Trust Dynamics in LLM Supply Chains](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.16310/) (2024)
- [Calibrated Trust in Dealing with LLM Hallucinations: A Qualitative Study](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.09088/) (2025)
- [A Scoresheet for Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09861/) (2025)
- [Unlocking Fair Use in the Generative AI Supply Chain: A Systematized Literature Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.00613/) (2024)
- ["I Don't Know" -- Towards Appropriate Trust with Certainty-Aware Retrieval Augmented Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.00957/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

As AI systems are increasingly involved in decision making, it also becomes important that they elicit appropriate levels of trust from their users. To achieve this, it is first important to understand which factors influence trust in AI. We identify that a research gap exists regarding the role of personal values in trust in AI. Therefore, this paper studies how human and agent Value Similarity (VS) influences a human's trust in that agent. To explore this, 89 participants teamed up with five different agents, which were designed with varying levels of value similarity to that of the participants. In a within-subjects, scenario-based experiment, agents gave suggestions on what to do when entering the building to save a hostage. We analyzed the agent's scores on subjective value similarity, trust and qualitative data from open-ended questions. Our results show that agents rated as having more similar values also scored higher on trust, indicating a positive effect between the two. With this result, we add to the existing understanding of human-agent trust by providing insight into the role of value-similarity.