Whitmore, Corrie Baird2014-03-142014-03-142007-02-23etd-05102007-134424http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32513This thesis explored the cognitive, character-inference process that Dirks & Skarlicki (2004) assert contributes to trust development. Self-reported transformational leadership, leader integrity, organizational justice, and leader prototypicality correlated positively with cognitive trust in this sample of 81 student employees (63% female, mean age 20.5) of a large southeastern university. Leader prototypicality, a cognitive evaluation process, partially mediated the relationship between leader integrity and trust. This study's prime contribution was the longitudinal, empirical test of a model of trust development in interdependent leader-follower dyads. Future research may explore other antecedents of trust, assess how the cognitive process of trust development occurs, or investigate the relationship-based social exchange mechanism Dirks and Skarlicki (2004) suggest contributes to the development of affective trust.In CopyrightLeadership--transformationalleader integritytrustLeadershipcognitive process modelorganizational justiceleader prototypicalitycognitive trustThesishttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05102007-134424/