THE TRUST-GATED EXPERIENTIAL DISCLOSURE THEORY (TGEDT)

The Trust-Gated Experiential Disclosure Theory (TGEDT) is a proposed multi-agent framework for examining how experiential information becomes available, is strategically disclosed, is evaluated for credibility, and is converted into decision-relevant knowledge. Its primary thought experiment, the Captured-Fish Experiential Disclosure Paradox (CFEDP), considers a recipient who seeks information from an entity that has undergone an event. The entity's experience may contain relevant observations, yet it may not possess a complete account of the causal process or general procedure responsible for that event. Even where relevant knowledge exists, disclosure may be impeded by conflicting interests, anticipated vulnerability, or concerns about subsequent information use. Conversely, disclosure does not guarantee acceptance, and acceptance does not guarantee truth.The framework distinguishes experiential access, experience-to-procedure inference, information asymmetry, strategic incentives, perceived trust, source reliability, disclosure completeness, reporting fidelity, information accuracy, verification, epistemic uptake, and decision quality. It proposes a sixteen-layer theoretical architecture, an N-actor structure, a terminology system, six principal mathematical components, ten research propositions, a twelve-step verification-assisted resolution protocol, and an eighteen-stage research roadmap.The proposed mathematical components include a multiplicative knowledge-transfer index, a diagnostic disclosure-paradox pressure index, a strategic disclosure utility model, Bayesian belief updating, dynamic trust updating, and entropy-based uncertainty measurement. These components define candidate formal specifications rather than empirically established laws. Their assumptions, functional forms, measurement requirements, alternatives, and limitations are identified for subsequent analysis.The central claim is conditional: experiential information may fail to become usable knowledge when experience is insufficient to establish a desired procedure, information is asymmetrically distributed, disclosure creates anticipated costs, and trust or verification conditions impair communication and uptake. Trust is treated as an important potential mediator or moderator, not as a substitute for truth or a sufficient explanation of every knowledge failure. Independent evidence, credible protections, appropriate incentives, and calibrated beliefs are proposed as candidate mechanisms for reducing avoidable informational deadlock.The theory's scientific contribution remains open to systematic literature review, formal derivation, empirical testing, replication, and comparison with established models. The present manuscript therefore establishes a structured research program rather than claiming completed universal validation.Keywords: experiential knowledge; strategic disclosure: information asymmetry; knowledge withholding; trust calibration; source reliability; Bayesian inference; game theory; cybernetics; epistemic uncertainty; causal inference.