Spontaneous vs. Strategic Guilt: Guilt Communication in Repairing Trust with Different Severities of Violations

Previous research has predominantly focused on the impact of emotions on trust repair, yet has largely neglected how the manner of emotional communication influences this process. Centering on guilt-the emotion most commonly experienced by transgressors following a trust breach-this study examines whether spontaneous versus strategic guilt communication exerts differential effects on trust repair, and explores how the severity of the trust violation moderates this relationship. Study 1 compared the trust repair efficacy of spontaneous and strategic guilt communication. Study 2 tested the moderating role of violation severity. Results from Study 1 indicated that spontaneous guilt communication facilitated significantly greater trust repair than strategic communication. Study 2 further revealed that this advantage emerged only when the trust violation was severe. These findings advance theoretical understanding of guilt as a trust repair strategy and offer practical guidance for nurturing and restoring trust in interpersonal contexts, thereby promoting relational harmony.