"Scientific Studies on the Subject of Forgiveness"
E. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Ph.D., in the Department of Biology at Georgia State University when the study was funded is now at Great Ape Trust of Iowa. She proposes to look at the development of inter-individual patterns of interaction between youngsters and caregivers that results in teaching forgiveness as a behavioral strategy in response to perceived wrongs. She proposes to prove that behavioral patterns of forgiveness are formed in humans and apes via early infant rearing/caretaking interactions and that these inter-individual patterns manifest themselves in social structures that promote forgiveness to different degrees. Finally, she proposes that these things are not biologically determined but are established in the history of a species and are subject to change. Research References

"The Emergence & Development Course of Forgiveness in Affect, Cognition and Behavior"
Susanne Denham, Ph.D., at George Mason University, proposes to study the first decade of life and how forgiveness develops during that time. She also will attempt to develop ways to foster forgiveness development. This study will include both a pilot/measurement development study and a short-term longitudinal study in emotional, social, and cognitive competence. Research References