Once Bitten, Twice Shy: The Negative Spillover Effect of Trust Betrayal

Abstract

From financial improprieties to fraudulent claims, charity scandals can alienate their supporters and incite feelings of betrayal. Is it possible for one charity’s indiscretions to encroach how people perceive others in the same sector and erode trust in charities not involved in the scandals as well? We conducted three studies to investigate whether people generalize the experience of betrayal and can negatively affect subsequent intentions and behavior to trust other entities. Study 1 employed economic games to demonstrate that experiencing betrayal at the beginning of the game would decrease trust in a different trustee who merely shares a nominal group membership with the original trust transgressor. Study 2 demonstrated this generalized betrayal effect in a real-world charitable giving simulation by measuring people’s actual donation behavior. Study 3 further tested the proposed model and examined two critical mechanisms – expectancy violation and violation of a just-world belief – that would drive the generalized betrayal effect. By systematically investigating whether and to what extent generalized betrayal can subsequently contaminate generalized trust development, this research provides a deeper and broadened understanding on how one may be vicariously affected by other entities’ indiscretions.