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: In this paper, the authors investigated the individual's ability to forgive concerning the characteristics of a friendly home environment and investigated the role of the home environment in the interpersonal interaction, concluding that the contribution of home environment to the development of the ability to forgiving is determined by the context of human development: both forgiveness and non-forgiveness are adaptive phenomena that are important for solving social problems.
Abstract: Objectives. Investigate the individual’s ability to forgive concerning the characteristics of a friendly home environment. Background. The article continues the series of works devoted to the role of the home environment in the interpersonal interaction. Everyday communication involves the distribution of different resources; this process requires personal qualities that ensure a tolerant attitude to violations of justice. Study design. At the first stage of the study, psychometric examination of the Russian-language Heartland Forgiveness Scale was carried out; at the second stage, a correlation study established the relationship between the qualities of a friendly home and the ability of the inhabitants to forgive. Participants. Five hundred ninety students (M=18,7, SD=1,1, 477 females, and 113 males). Measurements. Multi-scale questionnaires: Home Environment Functionality, Home Environment Relevance, and Home Attachment. Results. The Russian version of Heartland Forgiveness Scale includes two sub-scales Readiness to forgive and Lack of ruminations and has good reliability. The results of the main study were gender-sensitive. In females, the characteristics of a friendly home are positively related to the ability to forgive, while in males, they are negatively related. The highest number of connections is formed by functionality of home; in males — also by the home attachment. Conclusions. Against males, home implements amplifying function, and concerning girls — is ennobling; to develop the ability to forgive the young men need separation from home. The contribution of the home environment to the development of the ability to forgive is determined by the context of human development: both forgiveness and non-forgiveness are adaptive phenomena that are important for solving social problems, the content of which is set by the respondents’ gender.
9 citations
TL;DR: Forgiveness mediated the relationship between the victims' appraisal of the offense and their levels of psychological well-being, specifically through negF (i.e., the victims ability to leave behind the negative thoughts and feelings associated with the transgression).
Abstract: Despite increasing attention to the study of forgiveness, the links between forgiving real-life interpersonal hurts and psychological well-being have been overlooked. With a sample of 456 Spanish adults (aged 18–80 years), the aims of this study were to examine: (1) whether variables related with the victims’ appraisal of a specific offense (time elapsed, frequency, perceived severity, perceived intention) and their own beliefs about the nature of forgiveness (as either conditional or unconditional) are associated to their interpersonal forgiveness; (2) whether forgiveness plays a mediating role between the way in which victims appraise an offense and their levels of psychological well-being (PWB), and between their beliefs about the nature of forgiveness, and their levels of PWB; (3) the role that two different components of forgiveness (Absence of Negative and Presence of Positive feelings and thoughts about the hurt—“negF” and “posF”, respectively) might play on these relationships. We found that adults who forgive others tend to enjoy a greater sense of PWB than those who are less willing to forgive offenses. Frequency of the offense, its perceived severity and its perceived intention were associated with less forgiveness. Forgiveness mediated the relationship between the victims’ appraisal of the offense and their levels of PWB, specifically through negF (i.e., the victims’ ability to leave behind the negative thoughts and feelings associated with the transgression). Finally, the belief that forgiveness is unconditional or conditional has different relationships not only with forgiveness, but also with the victims’ PWB.
9 citations
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the prevalence and correlates of ongoing feelings of anger experienced by bereaved individuals toward their deceased family members, all of whom had received hospice care.
Abstract: by BRIANA L. ROOT The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of ongoing feelings of anger experienced by bereaved individuals toward their deceased family members, all of whom had received hospice care. Following the death of a close other, bereaved individuals may be left dealing with ―unfinished business‖ in their relationship with the deceased, including lingering negative emotions toward the deceased. It was hypothesized that ongoing feelings of anger toward the deceased would be linked with poorer adjustment outcomes for the bereaved individual. Furthermore, it was proposed that this association would be partially mediated by the nature and quality of the bereaved individual‘s continuing relationship with the deceased. The study included development of a scale to measure different facets of anger toward the deceased that may be experienced by bereaved individuals. The study had a sequential exploratory mixed methods design, with the data collected during the initial qualitative phase used to inform and enhance the proposed anger scale included in the subsequent quantitative phase. The cross-sectional sample was comprised of recently bereaved family members of hospice patients, 6-15 months post-loss. Eight purposively sampled participants completed an exploratory qualitative interview, followed by 130 participants completing a quantitative mail questionnaire. Despite some issues with skew, the newly developed anger scale demonstrated good internal consistency and initial construct validity. Three
8 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: This paper explored the relationship between forgiveness and adult attachment status in close relationships and found significant differences in forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others among homogeneous subsets of homogeneous subgroups of students.
Abstract: This research explores the relationship between forgiveness and adult attachment status in close relationships. Two hundred sixty-five undergraduate students were administered a demographic survey, the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) inventory to measure adult attachment status (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing) using dimensions of anxiety and avoidance, and the Conflicts in Close Relationships (CCR) inventory adapted from the forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others scales of the Behavior Assessment System. Lack of forgiveness of self had a positive significant relationship with anxiety; lack of forgiveness of others had a positive significant relationship with avoidance. Significant positive relationships were also found between lack of forgiveness of self and avoidance and between lack of forgiveness of others and anxiety. Significant differences in forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others were found among homogeneous subsets of
8 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: Forgiveness is defined as a "gift to the self" stemming from the development of deeper self-awareness concerning the impact of the offence on victims as discussed by the authors, and the major result of forgiveness is a sense of moving on from the offence which can be understood as the lessening of a cognitive orientation to the past.
Abstract: This body of work examines the concepts of forgiveness and revenge in victims of crime. Victims are historically under-researched and in particular there is a need for further examination of the psychological impact of victimisation. Twelve victims participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews concerning their understanding of forgiveness and revenge. Transcripts of these interviews were subsequently analysed using a rigorous Grounded Theory approach.
This thesis presents the argument that forgiveness is contextually bound; its exact nature being determined by the circumstances and consequences of a particular transgression. The research emphasises the intrapersonal nature of forgiveness, revealing a model that is considerably different from those that have been proposed by other researchers. In particular, the broad assumption that forgiveness is a ‘prosocial’ construct that involves the development of positive affect for a transgressor is not supported. Forgiveness is understood as a ‘gift to the self’ stemming from the development of deeper self-awareness concerning the impact of the offence on victims. With deeper self-awareness, victims are able to let go of the negative feelings, thoughts and behaviours which have resulted from the offence. Instead of developing benevolent feelings towards the offender, victims engage in perspective-taking which fosters attributions for an external locus-of-control for the offender’s behaviour. The major result of forgiveness is a sense of moving on from the offence which can be understood as the lessening of a cognitive orientation to the past.
Revenge has received very little attention from researchers to date. Where it has been examined previously, it has been assumed to be a unidimensional construct. By posing a rich and intricate model, this thesis provides the most detailed understanding of revenge currently available. Revenge is a distinct form of aggression stemming from substantial negative affect towards the offender and entrenched feelings of powerlessness that result from the offence. These feelings of powerlessness result in a strong motivational drive to restore the balance between the victim and the offender. While generally an affective construct, victims tended to compulsively plan and fantasise about how they would exact revenge.
8 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