Not Just The Two of Us: The Role of Emotions and Third Parties For Trust Repair

Authors:

Abstract: Trust violations rarely are limited to the transgressor-victim dyad; instead, they frequently spill over to affect a third-party group member and their perceptions of and behaviors towards the dyad. Our research examines a third party’s involvement in the trust repair process by studying their emotional and perceptual response to the emotions expressed by the transgressor and victim. We suggest that these third parties may be better positioned to facilitate trust repair due to them experiencing emotions less intensely and thus being more receptive to both parties’ perspectives. We theorize and find that the third party themselves will experience emotions in response to the emotions expressed by the victim and transgressor separately and together, affecting trust and other behaviors. We contribute to extant literature by considering emotion in the trust repair process, the victim and the transgressor simultaneously, and including the role of a third party in the trust repair process.

Track: NEG

Keywords: Trust repair, emotions, third party, experiment