From peaks to people: The association between physical topography and generalized trust in China

According to frontier settlement theory, physical topography is a critical factor that shapes a region's psychological landscape. To determine whether physical topography also impacts generalized trust, we conducted an exploratory study to investigate the relationship between mountainousness and individual's generalized trust (N = 26,910) in China. The multilevel modeling analysis revealed positive associations between the standard deviation of elevation and generalized trust. Random Forest analyses confirmed mountainousness indicators as significant predictors of generalized trust and also uncovered a complex nonlinear relationship between these indicators and generalized trust. Our results revealed that individuals residing in China's mountainous areas are more prone to trust others.