6. Discussion
Climatic demands and wealth are two important factors that jointly predict uncertainty avoidance and subsequent generalized trust (Kong, 2013a). Climatic demands are a stressor to human survival and societal effectiveness. Insufficient wealth leads people to appraise climatic demands as threat stressors whereas sufficient wealth leads people to appraise climatic demands as challenge stressors (Kong, 2013a; Van de Vliert, 2009). Following the framework of gene–environment interaction and building upon Kong’s (2013a) climatoeconomic model, the current researchproposed a gene-dependent climatoeconomic model of generalized trust, identifying the 5-HTTLPR S-allele prevalence as a critical moderator for the relationship of the climatoeconomic environment (represented by the interaction of climatic demands and wealth) to uncertainty avoidance and in turn generalized trust. By doing so, I integrated a population-genetic factor (the 5-HTTLPR S-allele prevalence) with thermal-climatic (climatic demands), economic (wealth), and sociocultural (uncertainty avoidance) factors in predicting generalized trust. The interaction relationship of climatic demands and wealth to generalized trust, mediated by uncertainty avoidance, was present in societies possessing a low level of the 5-HTTLPR S-allele prevalence, and yet absent in societies possessing a high level of the 5-HTTLPR S-allele prevalence. These findings advance trust and international/ cross-cultural management/psychology research and guide interventions and policy making for societal effectiveness, as detailed below.
