Anchored by Anger: Emotions and Trust Repair - The Victim’s Perspective

Abstract: Trust is an important element of relationships in organizations; however, it frequently is broken and requires repair. Research has provided insight into the cognitive mechanisms underlying trust repair. Despite the highly emotional nature of trust violations, the role of emotions has been overlooked in the extant literature. Drawing on trust research and theories of emotions, this research identifies how emotions, particularly anger from the trust violation, can impact trust repair through an intrapersonal route. Specifically, this study finds intense, felt anger to lead the victim to ruminate about the trust violation and be less receptive to trust repair efforts. Overall, this study provides theoretical insight into the role of emotions in trust repair, including how emotions relate to mechanisms identified by prior research.

Keywords: Trust, Trust Repair, Emotion, Anger, Experiment