Trust, betrayal, and reconciliation in dentistry: A study of cognitions, affects, and behaviors among the betrayed.

While the concepts of interpersonal trust and trustworthiness within the organizational environment have been reviewed and discussed by researchers and scholars, less attention has been dedicated to the understanding of interpersonal dynamics following a violation of trust. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to examine the self reported cognitions, affects, and behaviors of individuals as they engage in a trust relationship with a supervisor or peer in the organizational environment, experience a perceived incident of workplace betrayal, and make the decision not to reestablish trust with their perceived transgressor following the trust violation. Working with a sample front office administrators and managers employed within the dental industry---each of whom reported on an experience of workplace betrayal by a supervisor or peer---individual in-depth interviews were conducted to obtain data about the participants' lived experience with the subject matter. Employing Moustakas' 7 step method for phenomenological data analysis, the researcher developed a list of invariant constituents pertaining to 3 themes: (a) cognitions of participants who did not reestablish trust following an incident of workplace betrayal, (b) affects of participants who did not reestablish trust following an incident of workplace betrayal, and (c) behaviors of participants who did not reestablish trust following an incident of workplace betrayal. Of the 19 invariant constituents identified, 6 were globally reported among study participants. The 6 constituents universally experienced by the study participants include (a) thinking poorly of the betrayer, (b) thinking the betrayal was wrong or unfair, (c) experiencing hurt, (d) experiencing anger, (e) reduced trust for the betrayer, and (f) confronting the betrayer. All invariant constituents are addressed in the discussion on the study results. The findings of this study indicate that initial trust building and assessment of trustworthiness involve elements of objectivity and subjectivity. The unexpected, and undeserved, nature of the betrayal as reported through the participants' narratives suggests that trust violations within the organizational environment may have complicated implications for both truster and trustee. Finally, the findings illustrate how a betrayer's acknowledgment of the violation, and active participation in the trust repair process, may create opportunities for reconciliation.