Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships
01 Aug 1997-Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (American Psychological Association)-Vol. 73, Iss: 2, pp 321-336
TL;DR: Evidence is found consistent with the hypotheses that the relationship between receiving an apology from and forgiving one's offender is a function of increased empathy for the offender and that forgiving is uniquely related to conciliatory behavior and avoidance behavior toward the offending partner.
Abstract: Forgiving is a motivational transformation that inclines people to inhibit relationship-destructive responses and to behave constructively toward someone who has behaved destructively toward them. The authors describe a model of forgiveness based on the hypothesis that people forgive others to the extent that they experience empathy for them. Two studies investigated the empathy model of forgiveness. In Study 1, the authors developed measures of empathy and forgiveness. The authors found evidence consistent with the hypotheses that (a) the relationship between receiving an apology from and forgiving one's offender is a function of increased empathy for the offender and (b) that forgiving is uniquely related to conciliatory behavior and avoidance behavior toward the offending partner. In Study 2, the authors conducted an intervention in which empathy was manipulated to examine the empathy-forgiving relationship more closely. Results generally supported the conceptualization of forgiving as a motivational phenomenon and the empathy-forgiving link.
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TL;DR: It is proposed that the study of first-person experiential accounts of forgiveness can enrich ongoing definitional and psychometric efforts and the implications of a tripartite model of forgiveness are considered.
Abstract: The topic of forgiveness has received increased attention in the psychological literature; however, definitional and operational clarity remains a stumbling block. We propose that the study of first-person experiential accounts can enrich ongoing definitional and psychometric efforts. We systematically examined such accounts of forgiveness, identifying recurrent themes and then clustering these accounts according to similarities in theme profiles. People reported forgiveness through interpersonal confrontation with their transgressor (Cluster I), intra-personal evaluation of human fallibility and moral commitments (Cluster II), and attempts to resume a positive relationship without presuming that the transgression could be ignored or forgotten (Cluster III). The findings of the present research help to integrate recent studies of forgiveness, and the implications of a tripartite model of forgiveness are considered.
27 citations
Cites background from "Interpersonal forgiving in close re..."
...…that potentially compromise an explicitly descriptive objective include (1) theoretical commitments (even carefully considered ones, as in McCullough et al., 1997); (2) item selection according to what is professionally accepted in the area as definitive of forgiveness (e.g. Wade, 1989);…...
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...To address these questions, social psychologists have recently studied forgiveness more intensively (e.g. Boon & Sulsky, 1997; McCullough et al., 1998, 1997; Wohl & Branscombe, 2004, 2005; Wohl & Reeder, 2004; Worthington & Wade, 1999)....
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TL;DR: There is preliminary support from the psychological and physiological literature for further investigation of the hypothesis that disclosure can moderate the recovery and health of patients after an adverse incident, provided that the disclosure incorporates an admission of responsibility.
Abstract: Australia is working towards a National Open Disclosure Standard in which all adverse incidents are disclosed to patients in all health-care facilities in the country. Among the many good reasons for this approach, one that has not attracted attention is the possibility that disclosure of an adverse incident may moderate its impact on the recovery and general health of patients. In this article, we discuss this perspective with reference to relevant psychological and physiological literature. In the absence of existing research that pursues this specific hypothesis on disclosure and health effects, we called on the extensive evidence that analogous traumatic events can lead to a prolonged state of negative affect and hyperarousal that are deleterious to recovery and health. This state is called ‘unforgiveness’ by some psychologists. Research suggests that unforgiveness can be alleviated if people who feel aggrieved forgive those they blame for the harm. Forgiving is a complex process, but there is evidence that it is promoted by an apologetic response that incorporates expressions of responsibility, regret and intended action. With the exception of responsibility, these components are part of open disclosure as envisaged in the Standard. We conclude that there is preliminary support from the psychological and physiological literature for further investigation of the hypothesis that disclosure can moderate the recovery and health of patients after an adverse incident, provided that the disclosure incorporates an admission of responsibility.
27 citations
Cites background from "Interpersonal forgiving in close re..."
...Another factor that may play a role in forgiving is whether professionals respond to patients in an apologetic way after a harmful event [24, 53]....
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TL;DR: Worthington et al. as mentioned in this paper used a clinical trial design of 92 community couples seeking counseling to determine whether religion-accommodative hope-focused couples psychotherapy would differ from standard hope focused couples treatment, and found that the two types of treatment demonstrated improvement for couples over time but were not different from each other on most comparisons.
Abstract: Religion-accommodative psychotherapy has developed with trends toward equal or improved outcomes compared with psychotherapy that pays no attention to spirituality or religion (Worthington, Hook, Davis, & McDaniel, 2011b; Worthington, Hook, Davis, Gartner, & Jennings, 2013). Research on religion-accommodative psychotherapy in couples contexts is sparse, with a few studies of enrichment and prevention and only 1 study of couples therapy. The current study used a clinical trial design of 92 community couples seeking counseling to determine whether religion-accommodative hope-focused couples psychotherapy would differ from standard hope-focused couples treatment (Worthington, 2005). Results indicate that the 2 types of treatment demonstrated improvement for couples over time but were not different from each other on most comparisons. Implications for accommodating religion for couples therapy in an ethical and diversity-sensitive way are discussed (Hathaway & Ripley, 2009).
27 citations
Cites methods from "Interpersonal forgiving in close re..."
...Assessment procedures have typically included validated self-report measures such as the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) or the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS; Busby, Crane, Larson, & Christensen, 1995) and forgiveness measures (McCullough et al., 1998)....
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TL;DR: This paper found that strong consumer-brand relationships buffer the potentially negative consequences of brand transgressions, but weak consumer-branch relationships fail to do so, while strong consumer brand relationships buffer negative consequences.
Abstract: Prior research finds that strong consumer-brand relationships buffer the potentially negative consequences of brand transgressions, but weak consumer-brand relationships fail to do so. We r...
27 citations
TL;DR: Increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms, and most of these gains were sustained over the course of a year, in comparison with the control group.
Abstract: We evaluated the efficacy of an emotional education program that seeks to reduce the intergenerational transmission of negative interaction patterns by increasing forgiveness and spirituality. We examined both reduction of psychological symptoms and increase in positive psychological outcomes over the course of a year, as well as the mediators of this change. At baseline, the sample consisted of 99 participants and 47 waiting list controls. Comparisons of scores from baseline (Time 1) to one week after the Hoffman Quadrinity Process (Time 2) showed large declines in negative affect (depressive symptoms) and increases in both positive outcomes (mastery, empathy, emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, forgiveness, and spiritual experience) and health and well-being. Over the course of a year, most of these gains were sustained, in comparison with the control group. Further, increases in forgiveness and spirituality mediated the effect of program participation on depressive symptoms.
27 citations
References
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TL;DR: Two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) are developed and are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period.
Abstract: In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented.
34,482 citations
TL;DR: A new coefficient is proposed to summarize the relative reduction in the noncentrality parameters of two nested models and two estimators of the coefficient yield new normed (CFI) and nonnormed (FI) fit indexes.
Abstract: Normed and nonnormed fit indexes are frequently used as adjuncts to chi-square statistics for evaluating the fit of a structural model A drawback of existing indexes is that they estimate no known population parameters A new coefficient is proposed to summarize the relative reduction in the noncentrality parameters of two nested models Two estimators of the coefficient yield new normed (CFI) and nonnormed (FI) fit indexes CFI avoids the underestimation of fit often noted in small samples for Bentler and Bonett's (1980) normed fit index (NFI) FI is a linear function of Bentler and Bonett's non-normed fit index (NNFI) that avoids the extreme underestimation and overestimation often found in NNFI Asymptotically, CFI, FI, NFI, and a new index developed by Bollen are equivalent measures of comparative fit, whereas NNFI measures relative fit by comparing noncentrality per degree of freedom All of the indexes are generalized to permit use of Wald and Lagrange multiplier statistics An example illustrates the behavior of these indexes under conditions of correct specification and misspecification The new fit indexes perform very well at all sample sizes
21,588 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1958TL;DR: The psychology of interpersonal relations as mentioned in this paper, The psychology in interpersonal relations, The Psychology of interpersonal relationships, کتابخانه دیجیتال و فن اطلاعات دانشگاه امام صادق(ع)
Abstract: The psychology of interpersonal relations , The psychology of interpersonal relations , کتابخانه دیجیتال و فن آوری اطلاعات دانشگاه امام صادق(ع)
15,254 citations
Additional excerpts
...Social psychologists have also addressed interpersonal forgiving from time to time (Darby & Schlenker, 1982; Gahagan & Tedeschi, 1968; Heider, 1958; Horai, Lindskold, Gahagan, & Tedeschi, 1969; Weiner, Graham, Peter, & Zmuidinas, 1991)....
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TL;DR: A scale of current subjective distress, related to a specific event, was based on a list of items composed of commonly reported experiences of intrusion and avoidance, and responses indicated that the scale had a useful degree of significance and homogeneity.
Abstract: Clinical, field, and experimental studies of response to potentially stressful life events give concordant findings: there is a general human tendency to undergo episodes of intrusive thinking and periods of avoidance. A scale of current subjective distress, related to a specific event, was based on a list of items composed of commonly reported experiences of intrusion and avoidance. Responses of 66 persons admitted to an outpatient clinic for the treatment of stress response syndromes indicated that the scale had a useful degree of significance and homogeneity. Empirical clusters supported the concept of subscores for intrusions and avoidance responses.
7,692 citations
TL;DR: The Dyadic Adjustment Scale as discussed by the authors is a measure for assessing the quality of marriage and other similar dyads, which is designed for use with either married or unmarried cohabiting couples.
Abstract: This study reports on the development of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, a new measure for assessing the quality of marriage and other similar dyads. The 32-item scale is designed for use with either married or unmarried cohabiting couples. Despite widespread criticisms of the concept of adjustment, the study proceeds from the pragmatic position that a new measure, which is theoretically grounded, relevant, valid, and highly reliable, is necessary since marital and dyadic adjustment continue to be researched. This factor analytic study tests a conceptual definition set forth in eariler work and suggests the existence of four empirically verified components of dyadic adjustment which can be used as subscales [dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion, dyadic consensus and affectional expression]. Evidence is presented suggesting content, criterion-related, and construct validity. High scale reliability is reported. The possibility of item weighting is considered and endorsed as a potential measurement technique, but it not adopted for the present Dyadic Adjustment Scale. It is concluded that the Dyadic Adjustment Scale represents a significant improvement over other measures of marital adjustment, but a number of troublesome methodological issues remain for future research.
6,899 citations