An Interpersonal Application of Fresh Starts in the Context of Trust Repair

This paper examines how fresh starts motivate victims in newly formed relationships to initiate the process of trust repair following a transgressor's violation. Building on prior research studies that have emphasized the intrapersonal effects of fresh starts, this work extends the concept to an interpersonal context, examining whether recognizing a fresh start encourages behaviors that victims would not otherwise engage in and the implications of these behaviors for others. Across two studies—a Trust Game laboratory study and a vignette-based scenario study—in which transgressors violated victims' trust, fresh starts were associated with greater willingness to reengage with the transgressor by providing another opportunity for interaction despite uncertainty. This willingness to reengage creates opportunities for new information to emerge, which may, in turn, be associated with more positive perceptions of the transgressor's trustworthiness. Together, these findings suggest that in early-stage relationships, fresh starts can facilitate victim-initiated pathways to trust repair.