Conference 2: Scientific Findings about
Forgiveness
Presentation Information
(For
more information, please contact the researcher that conducted the study)
‘Til unforgiveness
doth us part: Forgiveness and conflict resolution in marriage
Frank Fincham, Ph.D.,
Distinguished Professor, Social and Clinical Psychology
University at
Conflict resolution is integral to a successful relationship. The resentment engendered by partner transgressions is likely to fuel couple conflict and impede successful conflict resolution whereas forgiveness may facilitate conflict resolution and set the stage for reconciliation. Two studies therefore examined whether forgiveness in married couples is associated with better conflict resolution. Both studies address two important limitations of forgiveness research, namely, reliance on a single source of data (usually the victim) for forgiveness and its correlates, and the assumption that forgiveness is unidimensional, ranging from unforgiveness at one pole to forgiveness at the other.
Study 1 examined couples in their third year of marriage and identified both unforgiveness (retaliation) and forgiveness (benevolence) dimensions. Husbands’ retaliatory motivation was a significant predictor of poorer wife reported conflict resolution whereas wives’ benevolence motivation predicted husbands’ reports of better conflict resolution. Examining longer term marriages, Study 2 identified three forgiveness dimensions (retaliation, avoidance and benevolence). Whereas wives’ benevolence again predicted better conflict resolution, for husbands,’ avoidance predicted wives’ reports of poorer conflict resolution. All findings were independent of both spouses’ marital satisfaction showing that forgiveness does not simply function as a proxy index of marital quality.
These studies provide initial data to support the theoretical argument that forgiveness cannot be understood completely by studying unforgiveness, just as marital quality cannot be fully understood by the study of negative feelings toward the partner (Fincham, 2000). The findings are discussed in terms of the importance of forgiveness for marital conflict, for understanding spouse goals, and for marital therapy. However, two factors, the moderate severity of reported transgressions and the nonrandom nature of the samples, caution against generalizing the results to clinic couples in the absence of research on clinic samples. Additional avenues for future research were also outlined.
Marital quality, forgiveness, empathy, and rumination:
A longitudinal analysis
Camillo Regalia, Ph.D., Professor of Social
Psychology
Universita Cattolica Del Sacro Cuore
This study investigated forgiveness in response to everyday marital transgressions. In particular, drawing on McCullough's (McCullough et al., 1998) social-psychological framework of forgiveness, the study examined the extent to which marital forgiveness is determined by social-cognitive (the offended spouse’s rumination and emotional empathy) and relational variables (the quality of the relationship in which the offence took place). The consequences forgiveness has for relationship quality were also explored.
In order to accurately analyze the direction of possible causal effects between the investigated variables, they were measured at two points separated by 6 months.
One hundred nineteen husbands and one hundred tweny-four wives from
long-and medium-term
marriages in north
Husbands and wives’ data were analyzed separately by carrying out a series of structural equation models. Similar paths were founds in both spouses. In particular, accordingly to findings obtained by McCullough (McCullough et al., 1998, Study 4) from university students, rumination and empathy concurrently predicted marital forgiveness one independently of the other. Forgiveness, in turn, concurrently affected marital quality. A reciprocal causal influence between forgiveness and marital quality was found longitudinally. Yet, the impact of forgiveness on marital quality appeared to be stronger than the reverse one.
Forgiveness as a strategy to maintain and repair
romantic relationships
Douglas Kelley, Ph.D., Associate Professor
of Communication Studies
This presentation provides information from three studies to examine how forgiveness is communicated within romantic relationships, most specifically marriage, and identifies the relational results of these communication strategies. The first study provides insights from interviews with 60 long-term married couples. Couples provided concrete examples of giving and receiving forgiveness in their own marriages. Specifically, they addressed why they forgave, how they forgave, and the importance of forgiveness in maintaining a marriage relationship over time.
The second and third studies examined survey data from individuals who responded to both closed- and open-ended questions regarding a time when forgiveness was used in a romantic relationship. The second study identified 5 types of forgiving communication reported by 187 adult members of romantic relationships: conditional, minimizing, discussion, nonverbal, and explicit. As expected, forgivers responded to severe relational transgressions with more conditional and less minimizing types of communication. In addition, variations in forgiveness communication were associated with relational outcomes. Partners who used conditional forms of communication were more likely to report relationship deterioration after the forgiveness episode. In contrast, forgivers who used explicit and nonverbal strategies were more likely to report relationship strengthening.
The third study examined data from 186 adults reporting on romantic relationships to see if the act of forgiveness resulted in relationship restoration after a severe transgression. Results indicated that forgiveness resulted in significant relationship recovery, although relationship quality rarely returned to pre-transgression levels. Additional results regarding the effects of transgression severity on forgiveness-seeking communication indicated that partners committing the most severe transgressions used more compensatory behavior and less humor as they sought forgiveness. Finally, it was determined that the quality of forgiveness-seeking tactics used by transgressing partners accounted for subsequent relationship changes. Explicit acknowledgement of the transgression and displays of nonverbal assurance were associated with more positive relationship changes.
Exploring gender differences in forgiveness
Ann Macaskill,
Ph.D.
Few studies have systematically considered sex differences
in situational forgiveness. Previous
studies of dispositional forgiveness (forgivingness) suggest that sex is
neither an important predictor of dispositional forgiveness nor a moderating
variable (Azar & Mullet, 2002; Girard &
Mullet, 1997; McCullough et al., 1998; McCullough, Worthington & Rachal, 1997). However,
a review of the studies that do focus on situational forgiveness and
include sex as one of the variables, suggests that there are some gender
differences in the way that males and females respond to situations where the
need for forgiveness arises. These studies all use hypothetical vignettes which
respondents are required to rate. The present study seeks to explore sex
differences in situational forgiveness where participants are asked to report
on a real, personal situation where the need for forgiveness has arisen. The
possibility of personality differences linked to forgiveness is also explored
as these have been reported in previous studies by
Rumination as a mediator of forgiveness and
depression: Differences based on gender and state-trait levels of analysis
Carol Brooks, M.A.
The second goal of this study was to examine gender differences in levels of forgiveness, rumination, and depression and to understand gender differences in associations among the three variables. The work of Nolen-Hoeksema (1991) and others has shown clear gender differences in rumination and depression. The relationship between forgiveness and gender is less clear at this time, however, there are also some suggestions that gender influences levels of forgiveness (Macaskill, Maltby, & Day, 2002; Maltby, Macaskill, & Day, 2001).
Forgiveness and reconciliation: A longitudinal analysis
Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology and Neuroscience
I will introduce research completed by Dr. Michael McCullough, Dr. Frank Fincham, and myself that presents a longitudinal conceptualization of reconciliation and forgiveness as processes of linear change that take place in relationships that have been damaged by transgressive behavior. In a study involving 201 university students who had recently incurred painful interpersonal transgressions, we used three approaches to modeling causal hypotheses with longitudinal data to examine the relationships between forgiveness and reconciliation (structural equation modeling, panel analyses, and time-varying covariates within hierarchical linear modeling). These analyses demonstrated strong relationships between forgiveness and reconciliation both between persons and within persons. Some evidence was also consistent with the proposition that forgiveness and reconciliation have reciprocal causal effects.
A randomized clinical trial comparing Enright’s Model of Forgiveness to a spiritual model based on Alcoholics Anonymous
Kenneth Hart, Ph.D., Associate Professor,
Department of Psychology
A randomized clinical trial was described that pitted a group
counseling version of the Enright forgiveness program
against a new ‘Spiritual Forgiveness and Repentance’ (SPIRIT-FR) program, a
12-Step facilitation that engages clients in forgiveness and repentance-related
aspects of the first nine ‘steps’ of the spiritual growth program developed by
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Eighty-four angry but sober AA members were randomly
assigned to one of two manual-driven treatment programs, and approximately 30
completed each condition. Eight “front-line” addictions counselor lead a total
of 10 psychoeducational group workshops over a five-month
period (4 per condition). Process analyses revealed the average client received
a high dose of treatment. Furthermore, treatments were implemented as planned
and were different from each other. Dispositional and situational measures of
forgiveness and repentance together with measures of spirituality were
administered at baseline, immediately following treatment and at 5-month follow
up. Analyses involving group comparisons of amount of change from baseline to
follow up showed both treatments had desirable therapeutic effects on
situational forgiveness and generalized readiness to repent, and that clients
in the SPIRIT-FR treatment program benefited slightly more in terms of being
able to forgive their worst offender. New grudges were monitored during the
course of treatment, and both programs produced a reduction in the rate with
which they were grudges acquired. Both treatment programs were associated with
significant and sometimes sustained improvements on measures tapping closeness
to God, positive spiritual coping and the occurrence of a life-changing
spiritual experience. These data suggest it is possible to develop therapist
treatment manuals that specify uniquely different standardized forgiveness
interventions, and that proper delivery of both of these treatment programs can
improve levels of emotional, spiritual and social wellbeing in clinically
distressed samples of physically abstinent alcoholics who are attempting to
attain greater levels of ‘serenity.’
Forgiveness and communication in marital enrichment
and with parents
Study 1: Between August 1997 and July 2003, we followed about 150 early-married couples for over one year using three assessments. Two-thirds attended 9-hour dyadic consultations (1/3 focused on forgiveness and intimacy; 1/3 focused on communication and conflict management), and 1/3 were repeatedly assessed but received no intervention. I describe preliminary results. Study 2: In 2002-3, parents of children under 6 attended forgiveness workshops or were in a waiting list condition. I describe preliminary results
Forgiveness and reconciliation
Les Greenberg, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology
The results of a comparative outcome study comparing a twelve-session emotion-focused intervention with a psycho-educational group for treating emotional injuries, such as abandonment and betrayal by significant others, will be presented. This study was designed to investigate the role of letting go and forgiveness in resolving hurt and anger caused by emotional injuries by past caretakers or intimate partners. Thirty-four clients assessed to have significant emotional injuries from the past randomly assigned to a therapy or psycho-educational group completed treatment designed to deal with resolving emotional injuries. Treatment manuals were presented and a video-tape of competent intervention shown. Groups were compared at termination on measures of forgiveness, letting go, target complaints, interpersonal problems and self-esteem as well as reduction in depression, anger and general level of symptomatology. The relationship between degree of forgiveness and psychological distress was also presented. The relationship between client self-reports of emotional intensity and outcome on the following measures was also examined. Initial differences in the process of forgiveness in individual and couples therapy, was described with a focus on the differences created by the added need for reconciliation in couples.
Neural correlates of imaginal
forgiveness and unforgiveness: A functional magnetic
resonance imaging study in healthy human subjects
Pietro Pietrini, Ph.D.
Universita di Pisa
pietro.pietrini@bm.med.unipi.it
My lecture focused on the brain correlates of forgiveness and unforgiveness in humans. The main aim of the lecture was to present data obtained by using functional brain imaging methodologies to determine the cerebral correlates of forgiving and unforgiving in human subjects. These studies fall within a broader line of research developed over the last several years by our group and aimed at understanding the neural basis of human behavior and emotion. The attendees learned about novel experimental paradigms aimed at dissecting complex behavioral features (as those involved in forgiving) and about regional brain activity in relation to forgiving and unforgiving in human subjects. Furthermore, patterns of brain activity associated with forgiving and unforgiving was related to psychological features and personality traits and to peripheral hormonal response in the individual subjects.
The unique effects of forgiveness on health: An exploration of pathways
Kathleen Lawler, Ph.D.,
Department of Psychology
The University of Tennessee
Forgiveness has been shown to predict both physical and emotional health. This research confirms that association with self-reports of physical symptoms, number of medications used, quality of sleep, and several indices of psychological well-being. Four theoretical models of pathways through which forgiveness might lead to changes in health status were examined. The direct pathway of forgiveness on cardiovascular responses at rest and during the betrayal interview tested the impact of forgiveness on acute physiological reactivity. Three indirect pathways were also examined: interpersonal competence, spirituality, and reduction of negative affect. Eighty-one community adults participated in individual, betrayal interviews during which their blood pressure and heart rate were monitored. In addition, they completed a questionnaire packet of state and trait forgiveness, interpersonal competence such as conflict management, spirituality, and measures of negative affect (anxiety, depression, and anger). Regression models were computed for each pathway entered first, followed by the addition of forgiveness. All of the pathways were associated with both forgiveness and health. Inclusion of the pathways increased the variance accounted for, yet in every case forgiveness alone added substantial predictive power above the proposed factor. A total model indicated that all factors and forgiveness together accounted for the greatest amount of variance in health (r2 = .24, p<.0001), with forgiveness adding an additional 7.2% (trait) or 9.7% (state). Thus, forgiveness clearly is associated with a variety of health measures. While some of this effect may be carried by interpersonal competence, spirituality and reduction of negative affect, forgiveness adds uniquely to the prediction of health.
Forgiveness, emotion, and psychophysiology: Four experiments
Charlotte Witvliet,
Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
This presentation will disseminate the results of four psychophysiological experiments on forgiveness. These studies assess the effects of (1) unforgiving versus forgiving responses in victims, (2) seeking forgiveness and receiving begrudging, forgiving, or reconciling responses, (3) apology and restitution, and (4) forgiveness as well as punitive and restorative justice.
Assessing forgiveness
Warren Jones, Ph.D., Professor, Department
of Psychology
Forgiveness research has yielded an abundance of instruments. This research (n = 1579) compared available measures with respect to psychometric (e.g., validity, reliability) and itemmetric (e.g., type of item, reading difficulty, etc.) characteristics. Results indicated important differences between, but generally high comparability within categories (e.g., dispositional vs. offense-specific measures).
Beyond impulsiveness: An interdependence analysis of prosocial behavior in dyads
Eli Finkel, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Social Psychology
Northwestern University
All individuals in long-standing dyadic relationships at times behave badly toward their partners. Based on an interdependence theoretic analysis, we suggest that the non-offending partner tends to experience impulses toward selfish or retaliatory responding to such treatment. These ideas inspired a line of research around a common question: When immediate self-interests and relationship interests conflict, what causes an individual to forego self-interested behavior in favor of behavior oriented toward relationship interests?
This talk presented the results of research exploring (a) the validity of our assumption that individuals experience gut-level impulses toward retaliation following rude or inconsiderate behavior by the partner, and (b) the motivational and ability factors increasing the likelihood that individuals will get beyond these self-oriented impulses in favor of prorelationship responding. Taken together, the results provide support for an interdependence theoretic analysis of conflict in close relationships, revealing factors that promote pro-relationship behaviors precisely in those circumstances when self-interested impulses are strongest.
Forgiveness as productive conflict
Roman Chteinbrekher
It is important that in order to realise forgiveness as an existential act the subject of the act overcome dependence on the source of offence. To do this people usually need special help as external accusation is quite a widespread phenomenon in the western culture.
Realising
forgiveness in each specific case is a complex multi-event process. Only in
rare cases it can be realised independently as it is characterised by a high
emotive level.
The main
idea of the research is to use technologies of constructing and productive
conflict development for the process of forgiveness; keeping conflict within
the process of its solving, where interpersonal conflicts are presented through
internal interaction of the corresponding personal substances ('I' – 'Another
I'). The research programme is planned to be fulfilled through designing a
theoretic model of forgiveness within the context of the productive conflict
dynamics.
The risk of forgiveness: Predicting women in domestic
violence shelters intentions to return to their partners
Kristi Gordon, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology
University of Tenneessee
Although practical considerations have been shown to be predictive of a woman either staying in an abusive relationship or returning to it, these considerations still might not provide the entire picture. A growing body of qualitative observations and empirical findings reveal the importance of attributional and emotional processes in reactions to domestic violence (Bartholomew, Henderson, & Dutton, 2000; Griffing et al, 2002; Katz, Arias, Beach, Brody, & Roman, 1995; Truman-Schramm et al., 2000; Watlington et al., 1999). Consequently, whereas it is likely that social and economic constraints play a role in a woman’s decision to return to an abusive relationship, it is also apparent that psychological and emotional factors may influence this decision as well.
One factor that may increase these women’s likelihood of continuing their relationships is forgiveness of their partners, a variable that has been little studied in this population. If a woman is able to forgive her partner’s behavior, then she might be more likely to desire to return to the relationship. A recent finding on dating violence indicates that young women who blame themselves for violent episodes are more likely to state that they would forgive violent episodes from their male partners and indicate a higher likelihood of staying in an abusive relationship (Katz, Street, & Arias, 1997).
Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the role of forgiveness of actual abuse in women’s decisions to return to their partners from a domestic violence shelter. One hundred twenty-one women residing in both urban and rural domestic violence shelters filled out a series of questionnaires evaluating demographic information, severity of the violence, attributions for the violence, psychological constraints (or investment), forgiveness of their partner, and religious beliefs about forgiveness. Forgiveness was found to predict intention to return to partner over and above the other variables listed above, as were religious beliefs about forgiveness. Furthermore, forgiveness mediated the association between attributions and intentions to return. Limitations of this research, future directions for research, and implications for treatment were discussed.
The explanation step of forgiveness treatment
Fred DiBlasio,
Ph.D., Associate Professor,
When family members come together for therapy, they often want to focus on the mistakes and offenses of others. However, when offered an opportunity to disclose and focus on their own hurtful behaviors, people do impressive work at self-accountability that establishes a basis for understanding, good-will, and forgiveness. Using a videotape of actual clients struggling through one step (explanation) of a long forgiveness session, the presenter demonstrated how therapists can set the stage for the other forgiveness steps.
Marital Reconciliation: A qualitative study
Virginia Holeman,
Ph.D.
Asbury Theological Seminary
Toddy_Holeman@asburyseminary.edu
Unlike forgiveness the formal study of reconciliation is in its embryonic stage. I undertook an exploratory study of marital reconciliation to (1) develop a grounded theory of reconciliation, (2) to identify factors salient to reconciliation, and (3) to generate ideas for research and counseling.
This study used multiple case, in-depth, phenomenological interviewing to gain an understanding of marital reconciliation and the meaning that partners individually and conjointly attributed to that experience. A purposive sample of twelve couples (N=12) was obtained through referrals by clergy or clinicians. Each couple completed three ninety-minute, audio-taped interviews. The first two interviews were individual to allow participants to discuss the flow of events from the viewpoint of either the injured party or the transgressor. The final interview was conjoint and focused extensively on how the couple rebuilt their relationship. Interview data were coded using The Ethnograph v.5.0. A grounded theory of reconciliation developed from the themes and trends that emerged from interview analyses. Triangulation was achieved by participant-observation, analysis of narrative data, and comparing study conclusions with psychological and theological literatures on forgiveness and reconciliation.
I define reconciliation as the active commitment to the restoration of justice and trustworthiness by both injured party and transgressor so that their relationship may be transformed. I employ the metaphor of preparation for wilderness trekking as an organizational scaffold for the eight themes that emerged. This metaphor avoids as much as possible a linear interpretation (i.e., steps) of the themes. The eight “essential items” for trekking through the wilderness of reconciliation include the following: commitment to a transcendent spirituality, commitment to reconcile, the role of community or witnesses to reconciliation, individual maturation, forgiveness, repentance, rebuilding truth and trustworthiness, and the emergence of a new story about their relationship.
Forgiveness
is associated with psychological health, findings from the General Social
Survey
Joanna Maselko, M.S.
Harvard School of Public Health
Preliminary evidence
suggests that people’s ability to forgive may influence health. However,
further studies using robust methods are required to corroborate these
findings. Participants were part of the 1998 General Social Survey, a
nationally representative, cross-sectional study of 1,445 people (55% women),
aged 18-89. During a face-to-face interview, participants were asked, because
of their religious or spiritual beliefs, how often had they forgiven themselves
for things they had done wrong and how often had they forgiven those who hurt
them. Psychological distress, marital happiness, personal happiness and
self-rated health were also assessed. Statistical analyses were performed using
multiple logistic regression modeling controlling for potential confounders
including age, gender, race, marital status, religiosity and income.
Significant associations were found between the ability to forgive and psychological distress, marital happiness, and personal happiness, but not self-rated health. Persons in the highest forgiveness level were more likely to report being very happy compared with less forgiving participants (self forgiveness OR=1.83, 95%CI=1.26-2.66; forgiveness of others OR=1.69 95%CI=1.11-2.57). Among those who were married and highly forgiving, the odds of reporting being very satisfied with one’s marriage were 1.5 times that compared to the less forgiving group. Highly forgiving participants were also less likely to report psychological distress (self forgiveness OR=0.58, 95%CI=0.41-0.81, forgiveness of others OR=0.51, 95% CI=0.35-0.75). The ability to forgive oneself and others is strongly related to psychological distress, marital happiness and personal happiness, independent of several confounders. Given that the worldwide burden of disease due to mental illness is very high, a better understanding of the predictors of psychological health is crucial. This study has contributed to that effort.
Forgiveness and health: Findings from a national study
David Williams, Ph.D.
Institute for Social Research,
The presentation provided an overview of the findings from a
national telephone survey on the levels of forgiveness in the
Brain imaging of empathic and forgivability
judgments
Tom Farrow, Ph.D., Lecturer in Adult
Psychiatry
The
Forgiveness is likely to comprise multiple cognitive components. One such component may be the ability to judge the forgivability of another’s actions. Another component may be an ability to empathize with others, including an aggressor. Empathy consists of two components: an affective (visceral emotional reaction) and a cognitive (understanding of the conspecific’s behavior). Empathy and forgiveness are also both heavily dependent on the expression and interpretation of emotions. We used functional MRI to examine the neural correlates of making empathic and forgivability judgments. To our knowledge this is the first study to examine the functional anatomy of forgiveness. We posited that forgiveness incorporates judgments of another’s intentions, their emotional state and the forgivability of their actions. While it was not feasible to image subjects actively forgiving or empathizing in ‘real life’, we used narrative scenarios derived from everyday life, to probe the neural systems supporting these complex cognitive functions. We hypothesized that fronto-temporal regions would be differentially activated by these tasks. Method:-12 healthy control subjects and 13 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) underwent fMRI scanning, while they engaged in tasks: (i) that involve speculation on another’s intention, (ii) that invoke empathy and (iii) involve making judgments of actions’ forgivability; each versus ‘baseline’ social reasoning judgments. A post-therapy fMRI scan followed a course of cognitive behavioral therapy with a forgiveness component. Results: Post-therapy, we found increased activation in brain regions predicted on the basis of foregoing work in healthy controls. These included significant left middle temporal gyrus activation in post-therapy response to empathy judgments and posterior cingulate gyrus activation in post-therapy response to forgivability judgments. Conclusions: Empathic and forgivability judgments activate specific regions of the human brain, which we propose contribute to social cohesion. The activation in these regions changed with symptom resolution in post traumatic stress disorder.
Forgiving the self: Conceptual issues and empirical findings
June Tangney, Ph.D.
Experts in forgiveness have emphasized the importance of forgiving the self, as well as others. Not infrequently, clinicians encounter clients who appear debilitated by unresolved feelings of shame, guilt, and remorse – very often out of proportion with the severity of transgression. It’s been suggested that in such cases, successful treatment involves helping the client process deep feelings of guilt and remorse, and to then constructively resolve those feelings via, for example, reparation and self-forgiveness.
By definition, clinicians see the most extreme cases. In our presentation, we examine the psychological and social implications of self-forgiveness in a non-clinical population. Is the capacity to forgive the self a psychological strength, much as the capacity to forgive others? Is self-forgiveness an element one might want to include in character education curricula?
Undergraduates in two independent studies, and friends and parents of participants in Study 2, completed the Multidimensional Forgiveness Inventory assessing the propensity to (1) forgive others, (2) ask for forgiveness from others, and (3) forgive the self. Replicating recent research, people inclined to forgive others are generally well-adjusted, agreeable, other-oriented individuals with a well-developed capacity for self-control. In contrast, people who easily forgive themselves appear to be rather self-centered, insensitive, narcissistic individuals, who come up short in the moral emotional domain, showing lower levels of shame, guilt, and empathic responsiveness. Relatively "shameless," they feel little remorse for their transgressions, little empathy for their victims, and little concern about what others think of them. Although quick to forgive themselves, they’re harsh in response to others’ transgressions.
These characteristics of self-forgiving individuals may cause distress to those around them. But self-forgivers are themselves unfazed. The propensity to forgive the self was positively correlated with self-reports of psychological well-being, and negatively correlated with internal psychological distress. Only clinical problems associated with a lack of self control (e.g., drug and alcohol abuse) were positively correlated with self-forgiveness. In short, self-forgivers may act “bad,” but they don't feel bad.
The process of forgiving childhood sexual abuse: A
prospective study
Jennie Noll, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical
Center
Sexually abused (N=55) and comparison (N=65) females (Mean age=20.41, SD=3.38) participating in a 10-year longitudinal, prospective study of the long-term impact of child sexual abuse responded to the Process of Forgiveness (POF) Scale concerning how they currently regard a perpetrator vis-à-vis how they have regarded this perpetrator in the past. The POF measures current feelings of Revenge, Anger, Conciliation, and a desire to Move On despite the trauma. Final scores on these dimensions were residualized for retrospective reports recounting a time when subjects felt the worst about the perpetrator. Final scores were related to outcome measures of psychological well-being.
For the total sample, Revenge was negatively correlated with self esteem. Anger was positively correlated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and dissociation and negatively correlated with maternal attachment. Conciliation was negatively related to PTSD and dissociation. The desire to Move On was positively related to self esteem and maternal attachment, and negatively related to depression, anxiety and dissociation.
Several group moderators emerged. Most notably, the relationship between anxiety and Conciliation was positive for the abused group, but negative, or near zero, for the comparison group. The relationship between maternal attachment and Conciliation is negative for the abused group and positive, or near zero, for the comparison group. These results suggest that reconciling with a sexual abuse perpetrator may not be a particularly healthy choice. Further, Conciliation may be encouraged in families where the maternal bond is less than optimal.
Those abused by their Biological Father (BF subgroup) scored higher on Revenge than did other abused subgroups and the comparison group. The BF subgroup scored significantly higher on the Anger than did all other groups. The BF subgroup scored lower on the Conciliation factor than the comparison group. These results suggest that forgiving sexual abuse by a biological father may be particularly difficult.
Affective processes and children’s propensity to forgive
Karen Neal, M.S.
Past research has demonstrated that forgiving is an affective process related to the ways in which an individual responds to anger inducing situations, as well as reactions of shame, guilt and pride. Research on propensity to forgive others, ask for forgiveness from others, and forgive the self has involved adult participants presented with adult scenarios.
To date, however, no study has explored the relationship between the propensity to forgive and emotional responses of children.
This is the first study to examine how children’s propensity to forgive is related to other affective responses. Thirty second graders, 20 fourth graders and 10 sixth graders completed developmentally appropriate scenario-based, self-reported measures involving situations common to children’s everyday lives. Children were recruited through parochial schools, a culturally diverse public elementary school, public libraries, and a home schooling network. The Multidimensional Forgiveness Inventory for Children (MFI-C) assessed children’s propensity to forgive others, ask for forgiveness from others, and forgive self. It further examined propensity to forgive based on severity of offense, relationship between victim and offender and intentionality of offender. The Anger Response Inventory for Children (ARI-C) assessed anger arousal, intentionality, cognitive and behavioral responses and long-term consequences. The Test of Self-Conscious Affect for Children (TOSCA-C) explored personal shame, guilt and pride.
Individual differences between the propensity to forgive others, ask for forgiveness from others and forgive the self will be analyzed and correlated to proneness to guilt, shame, pride and anger. Further, developmental differences in propensity to forgive and affective response between the three grade levels of children will be explored. Anecdotal responses from a past qualitative study of children from each grade level will be used to enhance the presentation and enrich understanding of how the forgiveness process develops in children during middle childhood.
The
propensity to forgive in the workplace
David
Bright, Ph.D.
Processes of
socialization influence the propensity to forgive, and identity groups within
organizations form are an important source of socialization. Though the
decision to forgive is an individual experience, it always occurs within a
relational frame; thus, the nature of relationships within a given frame should
influence the propensity to forgive. In
work organizations, relational frames are defined by one’s affiliation with a
work group or class. For example, strong distinctions exist in a unionized work
environment not only between labor and management, but also between seniority
groups within the union. In general, when offenses occur between coworkers, we
might expect that employees will be more forgiving toward offenders whom they
perceive as part of an “ingroup,” and that they will
be less forgiving toward those they see as part of an “outgroup.” These differences should be stronger among
those at the lower end of the power structure who often see themselves as more
oppressed. I propose to share preliminary results of a pilot study that
explores these suppositions. I have collected data in a unionized,
international trucking company. The research design employed both a case-based
survey (N=110) and open-ended, qualitative interviews (N=10). Initial analysis
may support the notion that employees of different work-based identity groups
differ in their propensity to forgive. Qualitative analysis also suggests
several propositions; for example, that union employees tend to be more
forgiving of each other than they are toward management, while managers are
generally more forgiving toward all workers.
Stanford
Forgiveness Projects- Research applications
Frederic
Luskin, Ph.D.
The Stanford Forgiveness Projects are a series of research projects that investigate the effectiveness of a specific forgiveness methodology. The initial project was a dissertation study and subsequent projects have looked at forgiveness in relationship to interpersonal hurt in a variety of situations. In each study people who had an unresolved hurt were taught to forgive in a group format through lecture, guided imagery, cognitive disputation and discussion. This presentation briefly reviewed some of the studies to show the efficacy of this particular forgiveness methodology.
Study One: Stanford Forgiveness Project: 259 community dwelling adults in the SF Bay Area, average age 41. Final assessment is 4 and one half months after the six week 90 minute session forgiveness training ended. Largest study to date on the training and measurement of the effects of interpersonal forgiveness. Recruitment was for any unresolved interpersonal hurt that did not include a current experience of physical or sexual violence. 70% decrease in feelings of hurt: 13% reduction in long- term experience of anger: 27% reduction in physical symptoms of stress (back ache, dizziness, sleeplessness, headache, stomach upset, etc.) 15% decrease in emotional experience of stress: 34% increase in forgiveness for person that hurt them: 105% more willing to forgive in other hypothetical situations.
Study Two: Stanford
Study Three: Stanford
Study Four: - The Effect of Forgiveness Training on Financial Service Advisors: Thirteen American Express Advisors and three Vice Presidents were given in workshop format a one day training in emotional competence focusing on forgiveness. Each advisor was offered follow up was through 4 conference calls over the subsequent year. First cohort completed. Reduction of 25% seen in stress. Participants showed a gain of 20% in positive emotion and an increase of 18.3% in gross sales. The rest of their market group showed a corresponding gain of 10.4% in gross sales over the year.
Transgressions in the workplace: Associations with
worker personality, productivity, physical health, and mental health
Jack Berry, Ph.D.
Transgressions frequently occur in the workplace. Recently, these have been studied as part of organizational justice. We examined the emotional responses of being unforgiving or forgiving. Workers (N=108) from four companies were surveyed about recent transgressions, their personality characteristics, self-reports of unforgiveness, forgiveness, and the degree to which they estimated that their productivity, work attendance, mental health, physical health, and work relationships had been affected by the transgression. Missed days and decrements in productivity were predicted by estimated decrements in mental health. Those, in turn, were predicted only by amount of unforgiveness and neuroticism. Decrements in physical health and workplace problems were not predicted significantly by unforgiveness, forgiveness, or personality. Unforgiveness and forgiveness were predicted by different patterns of predictors. In exploratory analyses, we found that co-workers who offended often did so through actionable offenses (e.g., harassment) while managers who offended usually did so through criticism, betrayal, and showing lack of appreciation. The study touches fields of vocational psychology, organizational justice, and positive psychology (notably forgiveness).
Forgiveness
is change
Michael McCullough, Ph.D., Associate
Professor, Departments of Psychology and Religious Studies
When most laypeople and researchers alike think about forgiveness, they assume that forgiveness involves a change of state. Some people invoke the notion that forgiveness involves an increase in love and compassion for a transgressor. Some suggest that forgiveness involves the cancellation of a debt. Others suggest that forgiveness involves a reduction in bitter, cold emotions by replacing them with positive, other-oriented emotions. Despite the differences in these definitions, they all share in common the notion that forgiveness involves a change of psychological state: When people forgive, they change.
However, few researchers have used conceptual or methodological tools that allow them to measure forgiveness as a process of change. Instead, most researchers’ efforts to measure forgiveness have involved measuring individuals’ thoughts, feelings, or behavioral inclinations regarding a transgressor at only a single point in time. Although such work is extremely valuable, by ignoring change it leaves an important piece in the forgiveness puzzle relatively unexplored.
In this presentation, I outlined the work that we have been doing to conceptualize forgiveness as a process of change that unfolds during the days and weeks following a transgression. I outlined one conceptual and statistical model that we have found helpful. This model has helped us shed light on the nature of forgiveness itself, its social-cognitive and relational determinants, and its consequences for relational functioning and psychological well-being. For example, this model has allowed us to study the role of empathy, attributions, and rumination about the transgression in fostering and deterring forgiveness, it has helped us to understand how forgiveness may foster reconciliation (and vice versa), and it has helped us to understand how forgiveness may (and may not) be related to physiological functioning and psychological well-being.
NEO-PI-R correlates of dispositional forgiveness
Karen Mansfield-Blair, M.S.
The present study examined dispositional facets of forgiveness and explored their relationships to the Big Five personality factors and facets. Participants (N=532) completed measures of forgivingness and Big Five personality traits. Overall, factors accounted for 11% to 36% of the variance in forgivingness, while facets accounted for 21% to 46%.
Most research to date has
investigated situational forgiveness,
and there is a paucity of research on dispositional
forgiveness at this time.
Data were collected across two administrations four weeks apart. Participants (N1 = 532 and N2 = 169) completed the Transgression Narrative Test of Forgivingness (TNTF; Berry et al., 2001) and the Multidimensional Forgivingness Scale (MFS; Toussaint, unpublished). The TNTF varies situations, intensity of offense, and level of relationship in an effort to simulate forgiveness across time and situations. The MFS utilizes seven scales that measure giving, receiving, and seeking forgiveness across self, others, and God. TNTF and MFS coefficient alphas ranged from .56 to .82 (Time 1) and .59 to .85 (Time 2). Test-retest correlations ranged from .61 to .85. The NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) was administered at time one only.
Results showed 20% of TNTF variance was accounted for by NEO-PI-R Big Five factors, while underlying facets accounted for 30%. Factors accounted for 36% of variance in forgiving others, 24% in feeling others’ and 24% in seeking others’ forgiveness. Facets accounted for 42% of variance in forgiving others, 29% in feeling others’, and 29% in seeking others’ forgiveness. Factors accounted for 11% of variance in forgiving God, 15% in feeling, and 17% in seeking God’s forgiveness. Facets accounted for 21% of variance in forgiving God, 25% in feeling, and 32% in seeking God’s forgiveness. Results showed 32% of forgiven self variance was accounted for by factors, while underlying facets accounted for 46%.
Forgiveness and the Five-Factor Model
Paul Mauger, Ph.D.
Costa and McCrae have stated,
”Since 1985, research using the NEO-PI [has] demonstrated that the same five
factors can account for the major dimensions in personality questionnaires...It
appears that these factors are indeed comprehensive.” (1992, p.14). The current
study relates the concept of forgiveness as well as guilt (forgiveness of
self), spiritual resources (for coping with life stress) and empathy (love) to
the Five Factor model of personality.
The participants in this study were 318 adults and 56 adolescents. They completed the Personal Survey 3.1 (Mauger, 1994) a self report questionnaire with 36 scales, including Forgiveness, Guilt and Spiritual Resources and Empathy scales. They also took the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) a self report measure of the Five Factor Model of personality.
A principle components analysis was performed on the Personal Survey 3.1 data from 318 people. Six components were produced and then rotated to a varimax solution. The variable loadings and the order of the extraction of the components closely parallels the findings of McCrae and Costa (1989). The Forgiveness and the Guilt scales form part of different components, which seem to be the NEO Neuroticism and Agreeableness factors. This result indicates that Guilt is more of an intrapersonal behavior whereas Forgiveness is clearly an interpersonal behavior.
This impression is supported by correlations between the scales. The Empathy scale has a high correlation with the NEO Agreeableness domain and the Guilt scale has a moderate correlation with the NEO Neuroticism domain. Spiritual Resources and Forgiveness have low correlations with the Five-Factor Model domains.
The pattern of correlations with the Forgiveness scale and NEO subscales suggests that a person who forgives easily trusts other people more than most people do, doesn’t have problems with being painfully self conscious, exhibits less Impulsiveness and has more Self Discipline.
Does religiosity predict forgiving: Religiosity, big
five personality factors and trait vs. state forgiving
Jennifer Ripley, Ph.D., Associate
Professor, Department of Psychology
The very nature of religion, which can inspire both violence and acts of courageous altruism requires ever-increasing depth and specificity of study. Pargament (1997) has suggested that one of the reasons why studies involving religiosity are often puzzling is the lack of understanding of dimensions of religiosity. While many non-religious people are undoubtedly dedicated to the concept of forgiveness due to personal experience, ability to empathize, a desire to be altruistic, childhood modeling, or other previously studied predictors—there are case examples of forgiving inspired by religion. How much does religiosity matter in forgiving?
Three multi-site studies containing 2,554 participants investigated three hypotheses: Does religiosity contribute to trait and state-forgiving? If so, does it contribute beyond relevant big-five factor traits agreeableness and neuroticism? And is there an aspect of religiosity that is a better predictor of forgiving than other aspects?
Results indicated that religiosity has predictive value in both trait forgiving and situation-specific forgiving. Participants’ religious identity was significantly different on trait forgiving measures, with religious identities that most typically emphasize forgiving as significantly more forgiving than religions that typically emphasize forgiving less often. The studies shed light on the importance of understanding the nuanced meaning of religiosity with different groups of people. In all three studies, religiosity was uniquely predicting trait forgiving beyond neuroticism and agreeableness. This research showed more predictive value of religiosity than previous studies of the topic. The results consistently applied to a situation specific forgiving, with religiosity predicting 8-10% of the variance in situation-specific forgiving. The current studies indicated moderate amounts of predictive value for religious group identity, level of religious activity, religious commitment, and subjective spiritual intensity. For the more religiously committed subjective intensity was a stronger predictor of forgiving. For all others religious behavior was the strongest predictor of forgiving. Future research in the subject is discussed.
Forgiveness
and vengefulness in the context of adolescent religious and behavioral
development: A twin study of genetic and social influence
Lindon Eaves, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Human Genetics and Psychiatry
Aspects of adolescent spirituality and behavior were studied in a population-based sample of 2,224 school-aged twins and 2,844 mothers of twins. Twin correlations revealed that forgiveness and vengefulness are partly genetic, whereas spirituality is shaped by the family environment. Forgiveness is better understood in relations to pro-social behavior than religion.
Grudges toward God: A brief overview
Julie Exline, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology
Case Western Reserve University
Grudges and forgiveness are
relevant not only in interpersonal relationships, but also in perceived
relationships between humans and God. When people face crises such as illness,
homelessness, or bereavement, they often attribute them to God and become angry
toward God in the process. This presentation provided a brief overview of
research on the following questions: What situational, religious, and
psychological factors predict whether people will experience significant
problems in their perceived relationships with God? What processes do people go
through in resolving negative feelings toward God, and how might these
processes parallel those of interpersonal forgiveness and reconciliation?
Research suggests that negative feelings toward God are common in the wake of
negative life events, even though many people do not find these feelings
morally acceptable. At an individual level, frequent or intensely negative
feelings toward God are associated with narcissistic entitlement, trait anger,
low self-esteem, depression, and insecure attachment. At a situational level,
negative feelings toward God are linked with seeing God as responsible for
devastating events, not feeling repaid by God, seeing God’s actions as
malevolent, punitive, illogical, or shaming, and feeling distant from God prior
to the incident. Many people report success in resolving negative feelings
toward God, and they sometimes suggest that their perceived relationship with
God improves as a result of the incident. On the other hand, anger toward God
can also prompt crises of faith and disbelief in God. Studies to date do not
suggest a single, common process by which individuals resolve negative feelings
toward God. Some individuals experience meaningful turning points that assist
in anger resolution, while for others anger dissipates gradually over time. It
is proposed that anger toward God is a promising new avenue for forgiveness
research, one with direct conceptual ties to interpersonal forgiveness.
Testing an intervention program for interpersonal forgiveness
Peter Hill, Ph.D., Professor, Department of
Psychology
Earlier research conducted by the authors investigated humility, perspective-taking, and empathy as predictors of forgiveness in a population of people who were involved in real-life disputes. Results indicted that all three variables correlated significantly with certain forgiveness measures. Based upon these preliminary findings, the authors developed an educational intervention aimed at promoting forgiveness by addressing each of the variables above as well as how to handle negative emotions (i.e., anger).
College student volunteers, who felt they had been personally wronged by someone else and for whom forgiveness for this wrong was an issue, served as subjects. Students assigned to the intervention group participated in four separate sessions (one session per week). Each session centered around one of the three variables found to be correlated with forgiveness in the previous research study, plus the session on handling emotions. The first session began with a series of surveys measuring forgiveness, humility, empathy, anger, and perspective-taking. Following the surveys, an intervention was introduced on one of the four variables studied, and post-test measures were taken of forgiveness and of the specific variable emphasized in the intervention. The following week, a new session began with a measure of the previous week’s discussion topic followed by an intervention on another variable. This pattern continued until all four forgiveness interventions had been presented. The control group was measured on forgiveness and all four variables during the first week’s session and again four weeks later.
Initial analyses indicated no significant differences between those who participated in the interventions and those who served as controls. Subjects in both the intervention and control conditions showed “improved” scores at the post-test on all four mediating variables. Given the small sample sizes (N = 47 in intervention group and N = 6 in control group), additional studies on the effectiveness of the interventions on promoting forgiveness are needed.
Victim offender dialogue in crimes of severe violence:
A multi-site study of programs in Texas and Ohio
Marilyn Armour,
Ph.D., Assistant Professor,
The
Although victim offender reconciliation or victim offender conferencing is recognized as a viable restorative justice initiative in property crimes and minor assaults, the application of the principles of restorative justice in crimes of severe violence, including murder has been slow to develop. This study represents the first empirical multi-site investigation of the impact of victim offender dialogue (VOD) on victims and survivors in the first two states to implement state-wide programs.
The sample consisted of 20 direct
victims or family survivors of direct victims each from
Results indicate exceptionally high levels of satisfaction with the process and outcome of the mediation; a total of 63 interviewees (80%) reported that the program had a profound effect on their lives including changed feelings for the offender (58%), personal growth and healing for the victim (60%), and strengthening of offender spirituality (62%). Reasons for meeting included a search for information and answers (58%) and a desire to benefit the victim (95%).
Both the
Implications include specialized training for mediators, the amending of current state crime victim compensation laws to allow reimbursement for the cost of victim-initiated VOD services with the responsible inmate, and choice in the intensity of the process needed for healing. More rigorous studies involving larger samples are required, however, before any conclusions can be drawn.
The use of compensation as a method for promoting
forgiveness in criminal contexts – the effect of source of compensation
Eleanor Wertheim, Ph.D., Associate
Professor, School of Psychological Science
La
Victims of criminal transgressions can receive compensation from various sources including: government compensation agencies, compensation orders instructing offenders to pay compensation, and as a result of victim-offender reconciliation programs. Although some research has been conducted into the effects of source of compensation on victims’ satisfaction with outcome, no research has looked at victims’ forgiveness of offenders in various compensatory contexts. Thus, the aims of this study were to investigate the effects of source of compensation on victim forgiveness and satisfaction with outcome. The effects of trait empathy on forgiveness were also examined. Seventy-five participants (age M=33.67 years, SD=14.28) read a standard scenario describing a non-violent property crime and rated their responses to the offender. Participants then read one of four outcome scenarios (no compensation, compensation from a government agency, compensation forced from the offender, and compensation provided voluntarily from the offender) to which participants were randomly assigned. Participants rated degree of forgiveness towards the offender, satisfaction with outcome of the process and rated perceived characteristics and response to the offender. All participants who received compensation were significantly more satisfied with outcome than participants who did not receive compensation. Participants who received compensation provided voluntarily by the offender were significantly more forgiving than participants in the remaining three conditions. There was a significant interaction effect between condition and trait empathy indicating that participants with high and low trait empathy reacted differently to the compensation conditions. Results were interpreted to indicate that conciliatory gestures by offenders are only likely to facilitate forgiveness in victims when such gestures are voluntary. Victims are also more likely to be satisfied with outcome when compensation is received than when no compensation is received, regardless of the source of compensation. Whether some compensatory procedures are more beneficial than others is contingent upon the aims of restorative justice.
Forgiveness among the virtues
Jack Berry, Ph.D.
We have argued that forgiveness occurs when affective systems associated with positive, love-based emotions dominate affective systems associated with unforgiveness. However, forgiveness is only one means of coping with transgressions. Other means include forbearance, accommodation, cognitive reframing, and seeking justice, which inhibit negative affects or their expression, but not by means of replacing negative with positive emotions. Although forgiveness is generally considered to be a moral virtue, so too are many of the alternative ways of coping with transgressions, such as justice, patience and forbearance.
Building upon our thinking about forgiveness, we propose that traditional moral virtues-socially valued affective and behavioral traits-can be classified into two broad functional classes. Warmth-based virtues (e.g., love, compassion, generosity) contribute to cooperation and warm emotional bonds. Conscientiousness-based virtues (e.g., self-control, forbearance, justice) inhibit selfish and antisocial behavior. We suggest that there are individual differences in the degree to which people value and practice the virtues in these two classes. Furthermore, differential preferences for the two classes of virtues should predict differential responses to transgressions.
We present data from three recent studies concerned with individual differences in the preferences for and the practice of various moral virtues. The data suggest that (1) virtue preferences do tend to cluster into the two classes of warmth-based and conscientiousness-based virtues, (2) individuals who strongly value forgiveness tend to value love, generosity, gentleness, compassion, and other warmth-based virtues moreso than they do conscientiousness-based virtues such as self-control, moderation, prudence, and perseverance, and (3) the tendency to practice forgiveness over time and across situations (dispositional forgivingness) is associated with a preference for the warmth-based class of virtues. We suggest that forgiveness is best conceptualized as one among many positive, love-based virtues rather than as primarily an inhibitory virtue based in self-control and the moderation of negative affect.
Correlates of forgiveness & preliminary results
from a loving kindness meditation intervention for low back pain patients
James Carson, Ph.D., Psychology and
Behavioral Sciences
This presentation reported data on baseline correlates of forgiveness and preliminary treatment outcomes among patients with persistent low back pain who are enrolled in a novel intervention study. Chronic pain is a medical condition which is particularly relevant to the investigation of forgiveness. Anger and resentment - about an offender perceived as causing or aggravating their condition, or related to the chronicity of their condition - are emotions that are salient features of many persons’ chronic pain experience. Anger can be a major complicating factor in the treatment of persistent pain, and also negatively impact patients’ interactions with family members, co-workers, and health care providers.
The overall purpose of this study is to explore whether a novel, positive emotion-oriented strategy - loving-kindness meditation, a centuries-old Buddhist approach to developing love and forgiveness - can foster forgiveness, reduce anger, and improve the pain and adjustment of these patients. Forgiveness in this context is understood as a person’s act of deliberately giving up anger and resentment felt toward an offender, and fostering qualities of love, understanding, and compassion in their place. In this randomized controlled trial, patients are being assigned to the loving-kindness meditation protocol or a standard care control condition. Findings will be reported on the baseline relationship of forgiveness to pain, anger, depression, and psychological distress among 58 patients. Taken together, these findings suggest that there is a strong and consistent relationship between forgiveness and important aspects of living with persistent pain, including pain itself and measures of adjustment. Preliminary treatment outcomes based on data from the first 33 randomized patients will also be reported. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate forgiveness in a medical population. Potential implications of our preliminary findings will be discussed, along with methodological issues in the study of forgiveness among medical patients.
Attachment
security, altruism, and moral virtues
Phillip
Shaver, Ph.D., Department of Psychology
According to Bowlby and Ainsworth’s attachment
theory, attachment security provides a foundation for the optimal operation of
other behavioral systems such as exploration and caregiving.
In line with this proposition, empirical studies show that both dispositional
and experimentally induced senses of attachment security influence a person’s caregiving behavior, tolerance of outgroup
members, empathy, altruism, and virtues such as gratitude and forgiveness.
Insecure people, and perhaps all people in moments of intense insecurity, are
so preoccupied with personal threats, survival, and retribution for harm that
they have trouble focusing on others’ needs. Research suggests that increasing
people’s sense of security is one way to move them in the direction of
tolerance, generosity, and forgiveness.
Looking within:
Self-forgiveness as a new research direction
Lise DeShea, Ph.D.,
Assistant Professor, Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology
Despite the robust growth of research on forgiveness, self-forgiveness
has received little attention from researchers. Enright
and the Human Development Study Group (1996) postulated a triad of forgiveness
processes: forgiving others, receiving forgiveness from others, and forgiving
oneself. Self-forgiveness may be defined as a process of releasing resentments
against oneself for a perceived transgression or wrongdoing. Therapists may
assert that their work with individuals who suffer from feelings of guilt and
self-blame encompasses the process of self-forgiveness as clients examine their
motivations, self-messages, and patterns of attributing responsibility for the
events in their lives. Because of its intrapersonal nature, self-forgiveness
may not suffer from the confusion with ideas such as pardoning, condoning, and
reconciling. Models of the self-forgiveness process are reviewed. Efforts to
measures self-forgiveness are discussed, including recent studies that resulted
in the development and initial validation of the Wahkinney-DeShea
Self-Forgiveness Scales (SFS). The Self-Forgiving Thoughts/Actions Scale and
the Self-Forgiving Beliefs Scale are brief measures that produce highly
reliable data and are relatively free of socially desirable responding; the
scales’ relations with measures of vengeance, self-esteem, and the Five-Factor
Model of personality were examined. Future research questions abound: Can
self-forgiveness be taught? Do available measures capture the process or the
result of self-forgiveness? Is self-forgiveness distinct from other
psychological processes? Does a self-forgiving trait exist? Can the knowledge
gained from research on other-forgiveness be applied to understanding and
promoting self-forgiveness?
Examining
forgiveness in two different contexts: Significant, personal hurt and the terrorism
of September 11
Kathryn
Belicki, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology
This study was designed to address several issues: (1) to explore
individuals’ conceptions of forgiveness in two contexts, significant personal
hurt and the terrorist attacks of September 11th; (2) to examine the relations
between well-being and forgiveness in these two contexts; (3) to examine
whether the relation between empathy and forgiveness that has been observed in
close, personal relationships would generalize to reactions toward the perpetrators
of 9/11. Participants were 158 Introductory Psychology students ranging in
age from 18-37 years (M = 20.14) enrolled at a University in southern Ontario
located approximately 20 km (12.4 miles) from the U.S. border at Niagara Falls.
To measure forgiveness, participants completed the Transgression-Related
Interpersonal Motivations Inventory, the Enright
Forgiveness Scale, a subset of items from Kanz’s
Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire, and a questionnaire measuring forgiveness
towards the perpetrators of 9/11 designed for this study. Empathy was measured
by means of the Social Decentering Scale (to assess
dispositional empathy) and by a questionnaire designed to measure empathy
towards the terrorists. Well-being was assessed by means of the MMPI-2,
the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (to measure post traumatic symptomatology), Satisfaction with Life Scale, New
Satisfaction with Life Scale, Personal Evaluation Inventory (measuring self
esteem) and 30 items adapted from DeCourville & Sadava (2001) assessing self-rated physical health. In
addition, participants responded to several open-ended questions concerning
their definition of forgiveness as well as the relevance of forgiveness to both
9/11 and their personal hurt. Modest correlations were found between
forgiveness and well-being, and empathy toward the perpetrators of 9/11 was
highly correlated with forgiveness of that group. Finally, a content analysis
of the open-ended questions indicated considerable diversity in individuals’
definitions and experiences of forgiveness.
Examining forgiveness from the perpetrator’s
perspective: Establishing a link between introversion-extraversion, relational
forgiveness, and self-forgiveness
Jessica Rourke-Marcheterre,
B.A.
Forgiveness research has mainly focused on forgiveness from the victim’s perspective and has tended to classify forgiveness as either an interpersonal or intrapersonal process. This study examined forgiveness from the perpetrator’s perspective and explored the idea that forgiveness-seeking is both interpersonal (relational forgiveness) and intrapersonal (self-forgiveness), the order of occurrence being affected by an individual’s personality, specifically introversion-extraversion. Participants were 123 Introductory Psychology students, ranging in age from 18-56 years (M = 20.62). To assess participant’s degree of introversion-extraversion, they completed Ashton, Lee, and Paunonen’s Social Attention Scale (2002). To examine the type of forgiveness first sought, participants filled out a forced-choice questionnaire and a Likert-type questionnaire pertaining to seven imaginary forgiveness scenarios. In each of these scenarios, participants were asked to imagine themselves as the perpetrators. The two forgiveness questionnaires as well as the seven forgiveness scenarios were created by the researcher for the purposes of this study. Participants also answered Likert-type questions in regards to how guilty they would have felt if they actually were the perpetrators in each of the scenarios. It was hypothesized that introverted individuals would first engage in self-forgiveness while extraverted individuals would first engage in relational forgiveness. Analyses of the data revealed small but significant correlations which supported the hypotheses. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant guilt-personality interactions suggesting that personality differences in forgiveness-seeking style disappear in high guilt situations, with all perpetrators first engaging in self-forgiveness.
An analysis of the general population's understanding
of the psychology of forgiveness
Suzanne Freedman, Ph.D., Department of
Educational Psychology and Foundations
Although forgiveness has been an important part of religion and philosophy for as long as we can remember, it has only become a popular topic of empirical investigation by psychologists during the last 15 years (Enright et al., 1991; Enright & Coyle, 1998; McCoullough, Sandage, & Worthington, 1997; Freedman, 1998). Psychological inquiry of forgiveness has greatly increased during the past 10 years with clinical intervention studies being conducted as well as developmental research (Al-Mabuk, Enright, & Cardis, 1995; Coyle & Enright, 1998; Freedman & Enright, 1996; McCullough & Worthington, 1999).
It is not surprising that there is debate in the field regarding the definition of forgiveness and how best to forgive considering the background of those examining the topic: clinical psychologists, philosophers, developmental psychologists, religious leaders, social psychologists, and counselors (Enright, Eastin, Golden, Sarinopoulos, & Freedman, 1992). Definitions vary in the way they describe what forgiveness is and is not and the primary focus of forgiveness. Some include the role of the offender as the defining feature of forgiveness (McCullough, Worthington, & Rachal, 1997) whereas others are more broad in their definition of forgiveness focusing on the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects (see Enright, et al., 1992) (McCullough & Worthington, 1999). What is missing from the literature is how the general population understands the psychology of forgiveness, their experiences with forgiveness and forgiving, how religion influences individuals’ understanding of forgiveness, and individuals’ ideas on forgiveness and healing.
This paper discussed a research project that involved interviewing 48 adults about their understanding of the psychology of forgiveness. Approximately 25 questions were asked to each interviewee and in-depth answers were recorded and transcribed. Data was coded and analyzed into various categories in order to develop specific profiles of how a sample of the general population understands forgiveness, whether they view it as beneficial, their experiences forgiving, and how their definitions of understanding compare to the academic study of forgiveness. Interviewees’ responses differed according to the completeness of the individual’s understanding of forgiveness- what it is and what it is not, one’s view of the role of apology in forgiveness, influence of religion on one’s view of forgiveness, reasons to forgive, benefits of forgiving, and importance of forgiving. Interviewees’ responses were in agreement on the difficulty involved in forgiving and in the understanding of the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. Results illustrate that life experience plays an important role in determining how a person views forgiveness and what the important steps in the process are.
More detailed knowledge of how the general population makes sense of the psychological construct of forgiveness will allow researchers, educators, and clinicians to work more effectively in helping others forgive. Hearing more real-life stories of forgiveness will also give us much needed information regarding what factors help individuals forgive and when they find forgiveness most important in their lives.
The Heartland Forgiveness Scale: Measuring dispositional
forgiveness of self, others, and situations
C.R. Snyder, Ph.D., Professor, Department
of Psychology
The
Seven studies of college and non-college students (2522 total participants) are presented, with the goal of developing and validating the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS). The HFS is an 18-item self-report measure of dispositional forgiveness, with three subscales (each with six items) assessing forgiveness of self, others, and situations (e.g., illness).
Intergroup forgiveness:
African people’s point of view
Etienne Mullet, Ph.D.
Universite Francois-Rabelais, France
We presented the results of a survey about intergroup
forgiveness conducted among people from the Kasaï
region who had personally suffered as a result of the many conflicts in their
areas. A large majority of participants (86%) were willing to agree that
forgiveness as an intergroup process makes perfect
sense. In addition, participants appeared to have well-articulated conceptions
of what a process of intergroup requesting for
forgiveness could be.
Forgiveness in a transitional justice context:
Empirical studies on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Victoria Baxter, M.A., Senior Program
Associate,
Science and Religion Rights Program
American Association for the Advancement of
Science
Based on transcript analysis and focus groups with those who testified at the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Human Rights Violation Hearings, this paper presented findings that the TRC setting did not provide an appropriate context for promoting forgiveness between victims and perpetrators or prompting minimalist expressions of forgiveness.
Intergroup forgiveness in Northern Ireland
Ed
We briefly examined the discourse on forgiveness in
As Cairns and Darby (1998) have pointed out the conflict in Northern
Ireland is basically a struggle between those who wish to see Northern Ireland
remain part of the United Kingdom (Protestants/Unionists/Loyalists) who make up
about 50% of the population and those (Catholics/Nationalists/Republicans) who
wish to see the unification of the island of Ireland (about 40%). This conflict
is underpinned by historical, religious, political, economic, and psychological
elements. These elements lie behind the violence which has spanned the last
thirty years and which has led to death and injury, increased community
divisions (Cairns & Darby, 1998).
A review of public pronouncements about forgiveness, from both political
and religious leaders, suggests that intergroup
forgiveness has not been a major focus in discussion about paths to
reconciliation in
In the surveys we have examined a range of variables including intergroup contact, in-group identification and out-group
attitudes, exploring their impact on intergroup
forgiveness (our measure of intergroup forgiveness is
based on the responses obtained in the focus group interviews).
In general our results, which will
be discussed in the context of promoting greater intergroup
forgiveness in Northern Ireland, have indicated that, in comparison to
Protestants, Catholics showed greater forgiveness, more positive out-group
attitudes, greater out-group perspective taking and trust. However, Catholics also
identified more strongly with their in-group. Generally, forgiveness was
related to more contact with out-group friends, more positive out-group
attitude, and was also positively correlated with a measure of out-group trust.
The first kiss: Aggression and peacemaking among primates
Frans deWaal, Ph.D.,
Professor of Primate Behavior, Department of Psychology
After World War II, scientists
became fascinated with aggression in humans and animals. Inspired by Konrad Lorenz’s On
Aggression, an entire generation focused attention on aggressive behavior
and its causation. Moreover, in the 1970s, evolutionary biology narrowly
focused on the competitive side of animals. The only recognized constraint on
aggression was the physical risk of fighting. As a result, aggressive behavior
was studied separate from its social context. Most primatologists,
in contrast, emphasized long-term relationships and saw conflict as socially
embedded. The discovery of reconciliation came out of this tradition,
and gave focus to the general impression that societies constitute a balancing
act between cooperation and competition. Reconciliation – i.e. a friendly
reunion between two individuals following conflict - has since been confirmed
in many different primate species, in both captivity and the field, both
experimentally and observationally. Chimpanzees, for instance, kiss and embrace
after fights. Reconciliation has also been demonstrated in non-primates, suggesting
that the phenomenon is widespread indeed. There is good evidence that
reconciliation truly serves what its name suggests, i.e. the repair of social
relationships. The dominant idea (known as the Valuable Relationship
Hypothesis) is that reconciliation will occur whenever parties stand much to
lose if their relationship deteriorates. This applies especially to cooperative
partnerships and kinship relations. Mechanisms of social repair permit
aggression to be used as a negotiation tool: parties can make their respective
claims and intentions clear, sometimes forcefully so, without undermining the
relationship as a whole. Summarized in the Relational Model, these mechanisms
now seem so logical that the absence of reconciliation in a social species is
considered puzzling.
Forgiveness and health promotion among people with
spinal cord injury
Jon Webb, Ph.D.
Motor vehicle accidents and
violence cause 63% of spinal cord injury (SCI) sustained in
The therapeutic utility of self-forgiveness in alcohol
and substance abuse treatment: An innovative approach for working with women in
recovery
Marjorie Baker, Ph.D., Associate Professor,
Department of Social Work
Research findings have consistently verified that alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs designed to foster recovery and minimize relapse have proven more effective in treating men than in helping women struggling through the recovery process. Gender bias is evident in the design of most treatment programs and strategies, which were designed by men and with a male population in mind, often do not address the unique needs of women in recovery. While some programs have made adjustments for women, particularly around child care needs, etc. most continue to fall short in addressing unique mental health issues of women seeking assistance with substance abuse problems.
Investigative efforts have also repeatedly affirmed that guilt and shame are issues of grave concern particularly among female substance abusers.Yet, despite this fact, issues related to self-forgiveness are rarely discussed in treatment programs, and generally underutilized as a therapeutic tool in the treatment and recovery process for women. In helping women to heal emotionally and to remain substance free, it is imperative that professionals providing treatment in alcohol and substance abuse facilities understand the importance of addressing issues of self forgiveness, particularly when working with women in recovery.
For this research, a focus group method was utilized. Focus groups were held with women in recovery who had prior experience as participants in drug and/or alcohol treatment programs. Participants described, in their own words, their experiences in treatment, including interventions that were most and least helpful in maintaining sobriety.
Emergent themes suggested that feelings of guilt and shame have a lingering impact, and if not addressed, can contribute to relapse. The concept of self-forgiveness emerged repeatedly as a significant, but underutilized, prerequisite in the prevention of relapse.
Obesity, close relationships and forgiveness: A
psycho-educational group intervention on forgiveness in marriage with obese
individuals in a clinical population
Andrea Ceccarelli, Psy.D.
Obesity is a clinical condition that is very widespread in western societies and is linked to a high risk of mortality and morbidity. Obesity, with his predisposing factors (individual genetic, metabolic, biochemical, physiological and psychological characteristics, family relations and cultural aspects), represents a heterogeneous clinical condition with multi-component aetiopathogenesis. Bradley (1995) found that the major psychological stress cited by overweight female patients as a cause for weight gain was marital problems. In particular, when the hurt occurs, negative feelings (anger, resentment) are common, increasing marital problems. Italian overweight wives (n=44) from long-term marriages, hospitalized to Italian Institute for Auxology, with a mean age of 46 and a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 41 kg/m2 participated in groups interventions (5 encounters of 90 minutes) to promote forgiveness, a motivation to reduce avoidance of and retaliation against a person who has harmed or offended one and to increase conciliation, based on the Pyramid Model of Forgiveness (Worthington, 1997). Participants, before the intervention, wrote on a paper a specific interpersonal hurt, that happened with their husband and that they had wanted but had been unable to forgive. Marital quality, rumination, empathy, quality of life, forgiveness, personality traits and eating disorders were assessed before and after the treatment. The effects of the treatment, evaluated using repeated measures ANOVAs within subjects, showed a significant reduction in unforgiveness (p=0.005) and a significant increase in quality of marriage (p=0.025) and in satisfaction with life (p=0.027). The results also showed a positive correlation between unforgiveness before the treatment and the suffering (p=0.007) and seriousness (p=0.012) of the specific interpersonal hurt described, emotional empathy and forgiveness measured before (p=0.007) and after (p=0.0006) the treatment, cognitive empathy and forgiveness measured before (p=0.012) and after (p=0.004) the treatment, rumination and unforgiveness measured before (p=0.001) and after (p=0.001) the treatment.
The competing influences of religion and the immediate
peer group on an adolescent’s decision to forgive
Ashleigh Holand
By extending R.D. Enright, M.J.D. Santos, and R. Al-Mabuk’s 1989 study The Adolescent as Forgiver, this research sought to illuminate the relationship between adolescent religiosity and the opinion of the immediate peer group on an individual’s decision to forgive someone who had hurt them. The following data were collected from a sample of 64 adolescents in a Southern private school (29 female, 35 male, mean age 14.48, SD = 0.5037) in a survey setting: scores and sub-scores on the Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) assessing the respondent’s current affect, behavior, and cognition regarding someone who has injured them, self-reported religiosity assessing the respondent’s religious activities and the salience of their religious beliefs, and self-reported information about the current affect, behavior, and cognition of the respondent’s three closest friends toward the injurer.
Among significant gender findings, in males, the relationship between reported religiosity and demonstrated forgiveness is as equally moderate as the relationship between reported peer forgiveness and demonstrated forgiveness (r = .379 and r = .429, respectively). The difference between these two variables related to demonstrated forgiveness in females is much more significant (r = .033 and r = .797, respectively). Without regard to gender, forgiveness and peer forgiveness were significantly related (r = .603) with this variable being the only significant factor contributing to forgiveness (r2 = 0.363; F(1,62) = 35.403, p < 0.01). Forgiveness and religiosity were not significantly related (r = .193, p < 0.01).
This study offers evidence for Enright, Santos, and Al-Mabuk’s 1989 finding that adolescent forgiveness is mediated by peers, but finds practice of faith unrelated to adolescent forgiving. Gender comparisons demonstrate adolescent females to regard their thoughts, feelings, and actions consistent with their reports of their friends’, indicating a greater reliance on the peer group for forgiveness behaviors than males. Further implications for the components of forgiveness and adolescent friendship networks are discussed.
Forgiveness in first grade children: Relations with
social competence
Stephanie Pickering, M.A.
This study investigated influential factors and social outcomes of children’s ability to forgive. Very little research to date has investigated forgiveness in children, yet forgiveness may have important implications for relationship maintenance and interpersonal aggression. The current study assessed children’s self-report of forgiveness to hypothetical stories about peer transgressions (Denham & Neal, 2002) in 54 first grade children. Children’s social status, aggression, and prosocial behavior were assessed through peer and teacher reports. Children’s empathy was also assessed through teacher report. Results indicated significant relations between forgiveness and children’s social competence and aggression. In particular, forgiving accidental transgressions was positively related to peer reports of children’s social status and negatively related to teacher report of social problems and peer report of aggression. Forgiving apologetic transgressors was positively related to teacher report of sharing and helping and negatively related to proactive and reactive aggression and social problems. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that self-reported forgiveness of accidental transgressions and teacher report of child’s empathy significantly predicted peer report of aggression. Together these factors explained over 30% of the variance in children’s aggression. Further, mediational analyses (Baron & Kenny, 1986) suggested that children’s empathy (teacher report) partially mediated the relationship between forgiving accidental transgressions (child report) and aggression (peer report). These findings suggest that children who are more forgiving are more popular with their peers, have fewer social problems, and are less aggressive. Additionally, children’s ability to forgive and empathy for others significantly influences their aggressive behavior. It appears that empathy is an important link between children’s ability to forgive and their aggression towards peers.
Evaluation of two versions of a forgiveness group
intervention for divorced individuals
Mark Rye, Ph.D., Assistant Professor:
Department of Psychology
Divorced individuals often believe they were wronged by their ex-spouse. Consequently, many divorced individuals maintain feelings of anger and hostility toward their ex-spouse long after the divorce has been finalized (Wallerstein, 1986). Maintaining these feelings may have a negative effect on physical health and psychological adjustment (Bursik, 1991). In addition, conflict between divorced parents may have negative effects on children (Amato & Keith, 1991). One way to cope with divorce is through forgiveness. Research has found that forgiveness of an ex-spouse relates to better mental health (Ashleman, 1997; Bursik, 1991; Reed, 1998, as cited in Enright, 2001), better family relationships (Ashleman, 1997), and a more integrative approach to coping (Mazor, Batiste-Harel, & Gampel, 1998).
We evaluated the effectiveness of a secular and a religiously integrated forgiveness group intervention for divorced individuals. The following questions were addressed: 1) Will forgiveness group interventions lead to more forgiveness among divorced individuals? 2) Will forgiveness group interventions lead to improved mental health for divorced individuals? 3) Will there be differential treatment effects between a “religiously integrated” and a “secular” forgiveness intervention? 4) Will religiousness moderate treatment effects?
One hundred and forty-nine divorced individuals from the community were assigned to a secular forgiveness condition (N=49), a religiously integrated forgiveness condition (N=50), or a no-intervention comparison condition (N=50). Measures of forgiveness and mental health were administered at pretest, one-week posttest, and six-week follow-up. Participants in both intervention conditions reported significantly greater increases in forgiveness toward an ex-spouse and improved understanding of forgiveness as compared to participants in the comparison condition. Participants in the secular condition showed significantly decreased depression as compared to comparison condition participants. Religiousness did not moderate intervention effects. Participants rated the program highly on a variety of dimensions. Study limitations and suggestions for facilitating forgiveness among divorced individuals will be discussed.
Empathy, intersubjectivity,
and interpersonal forgiveness
Steve Sandage,
Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy
Results from both quantitative and qualitative psychological studies are summarized to highlight the roles of empathy and intersubjectivity in interpersonal forgiveness. Research with Hmong-Americans will be used to help contextualize indigenous models of forgiveness.
A grounded analysis
of client narratives about forgiveness and psychotherapeutic change
Wanda Malcolm, Ph.D.
Tyndale University College and Seminary
The grounded theory analysis presented in this paper is drawn from two studies carried out as part of the York Forgiveness Project. One study involved treatment of individuals; the other the treatment of couples in committed relationships. Both studies were carried out to examine the process and outcomes of emotion focused psychotherapeutic treatment designed to promote forgiveness for identifiable past emotional injuries.
Each study in the York Forgiveness Project used a comparative treatment design with clients assigned either to Emotion-focused Therapy (EFT) or Group Psychoeducation (GP), with 19 participants in each group. Promoted through widely distributed newspaper articles and poster advertisements, prospective clients were invited to participate if they had a past emotional injury they wanted to but were unable to resolve on their own.
The grounded theory analysis is based on verbal and written narratives provided by clients about the nature of their emotional injuries, their perceptions of change from pre to post treatment, and their self-reports about the experience of forgiveness. The narrative data was garnered from two sources: through audiotaped pre and post treatment semi-structured interviews, and through letters written as “homework” assignments.
The pre treatment interviews were specifically designed to gather information about the nature of clients’ experience of the emotional injuries that prompted them to seek participation in the study, as well as the change they desired as a result of their participation.
The letter writing “homework” assignments were designed to garner information at approximately the mid-point of treatment about clients’ perceptions of where they were in regard to forgiving and/or (in the case of the couples’ study) receiving forgiveness for a past emotional injury.
The post treatment interviews were designed to gather clients’ reports of change over the course of treatment, and their perceptions of the process of granting and (in the case of the couples’ study) receiving forgiveness
Physiological correlates of forgiveness: Findings from
a radically and socio-economically diverse sample of community residents
Loren Toussaint, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology
The study of forgiveness and health is beginning to receive attention but two limitations exist in the literature. First, the overwhelming majority of samples continue to be drawn from college student populations. There is little diversity in terms of race, socio-economic status, and gender. Second, only a few studies have attempted to examine forgiveness and physiological markers of cardiovascular and endocrine system function. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine forgiveness and blood pressure and cortisol levels in a racially and socio-economically diverse sample of community residents.
Quota sampling was used to recruit
98 participants from low and moderate income neighborhoods from
Forgiveness was assessed using a three-item forgiveness subscale of
the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality. This subscale
contains two items assessing forgiveness of oneself and others and one item
assessing feeling forgiven by God. The total score and each individual item are
examined in the analyses. Physiological markers of cardiovascular and endocrine system function
included: 1) resting systolic and
diastolic blood pressure, 2) pulse, and 3) salivary cortisol.
Measures were taken once a week for three weeks.
The association between forgiveness and physiology was complex. First, forgiveness total score was associated with lower resting diastolic blood pressure in the total sample. This was due in large part to marginal associations between resting diastolic blood pressure and items tapping forgiveness of oneself and others. Second, when examining only low SES blacks, forgiveness total score and the forgiven others item were significantly associated with lower resting diastolic blood pressure and lower cortisol at moderate to large effect sizes (rs -.34 to -.56).
Measuring spirituality and its relationship with health
Ming Tsuang,
Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology
Department of Epidemiology
We examined relationships among three components of spirituality (spiritual involvement, religious well-being, and existential well-being), their etiologic structure, and their relationships with mental and physical health outcomes. The association between spirituality and health outcomes was explained by existential well-being, which appears to be distinct from the religious aspects of spirituality.
Potential mediators between forgiveness and coping
factors and health consequences in persons living with HIV/AIDS
Studies in the field of psychoneuroimmunology have demonstrated significant relationships between psychosocial influences, immune functioning, and health outcomes. There is little research, however, on the health consequences of such spiritual concepts as forgiveness, or how forgiveness could affect various physiological processes, including immune parameters, which in turn, have been suggested to mediate medical outcomes in certain diseases. Forgiving and feeling forgiven are particularly central to the well-being of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Our program of research is focused on the immunological and health status concomitants and consequences of different coping patterns and multidimensional contexts of forgiving and feeling forgiven (self, interpersonal, medical, community, and spiritual) among HIV-infected individuals.
In our model, forgiving/feeling forgiven is conceptualized as a component of an individual’s style of coping with stress, and specifically with the stress of the exigencies of living with HIV/AIDS. In our previous research on more general coping patterns, the Type C pattern of not recognizing stress or physical/emotional needs, and masking or not expressing these needs or stress reactions was related to specific immune dysfunction and faster progression of cancer and HIV/AIDS. For our current study, we hypothesized that there would be clinically significant interactions between Type C coping and forgiveness measures such that masked or ungenuine forgiveness, in addition to not forgiving or feeling forgiven, would be associated with immune dysfunction and ultimately poorer health outcomes, while “truly” forgiving or feeling forgiven would have the opposite consequences.
We presented preliminary data from our ongoing longitudinal study on the relationships among measures of forgiveness and coping, physiological measures, and HIV-relevant immune measures. A better understanding of how different components of forgiveness and coping are related to disease processes and outcomes could be used to develop health interventions aimed at enhancing biopsychosocial well-being in persons with HIV/AIDS-- and potentially other diseases.
Psychosocial correlates of forgiveness in persons
living with HIV/AIDS
Rebecca Wald, Ph.D.
This paper presented preliminary results from an ongoing study of forgiveness in persons with HIV/AIDS. Because of the intense fear and stigma still associated with HIV/AIDS, many persons with HIV feel alienated from their families, communities, and churches. This sense of alienation is often intensified by feelings of shame or betrayal associated with routes of HIV transmission. These factors combine to place the multidimensional construct of forgiveness in a central role for persons living with HIV/AIDS. In this study, forgiveness was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct including both experiences of forgiving others and experiences of being forgiven, across a range of contexts – interpersonal, spiritual, self/intrapersonal, and medical, and was assessed using an innovative Vignette Similarity Rating Method developed by Temoshok.
Participants were 131 adult patients in an HIV/AIDS clinic serving an economically disadvantaged inner city area. The sample was 56% male and 90% African-American, and had an average age of 42.5. Patients averaged 8.5 years since diagnosis with HIV, and the most common routes of transmission were intravenous drug use (49%) and heterosexual contact (28%).
At Time 1 of this longitudinal study, both feeling forgiven and forgiving others were associated with fewer depressive symptoms, fewer life stressors, a greater degree of religious involvement, and higher global quality of life. Furthermore, expressing forgiveness in the context of one's own HIV infection was associated with a decreased likelihood of placing others at risk through unprotected sex.
Forgiveness across multiple domains was identified as a highly relevant construct in this sample of persons with HIV/AIDS, being associated with both psychological benefits for the individual, and benefits to the greater society in the form of decreased risk of HIV transmission. The majority of participants readily endorsed forgiveness as an important concept in their own experiences of HIV infection.
“You hurt my feelings pretty bad”: Parents’ and children’s emotions as contributors
to the development of forgiveness
Susanne Denham, Ph.D., Professor of
Psychology
Recent events have focused a spotlight on children and youth’s emotional and social competence. We wonder why some children behave violently. Answers to such questions are necessary, because our nation cannot afford for its children to be trapped in cycles of unregulated anger or depression; we earnestly want to prevent this. We also owe our children more than lack of disorder, more than averting tragedy, so we must also promote positive emotional and social competence.
To reflect these objectives, our research on forgiveness highlights how children develop this vital, but much understudied, strength. Children who are able to forgive – at least at an age-appropriate level – should be at an advantage both socially and within themselves. In our research, we focus on forgiveness’ foundations, its stability over time, and how it changes as children grow.
Learning how the forgiveness develops normally is a prerequisite to prevention or intervention programs to improve young people’s emotional and social competence. For this conference, we reported initial results of how parents’ anger, shame, guilt, and empathy proneness contribute to their 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders’ propensity to forgive. Parents’ specific maladaptive patterns of anger and shame have are associated with children’s lessened propensity to forgive, especially when accompanied by children’s own negative temperaments and maladaptive anger and shame, as well as their negative views of their parents’ disciplinary techniques. In contrast, parents’ empathy, proneness to forgive, as well as aspects of their religiosity, predict children’s greater propensity to forgive, especially when accompanied by children’s positive views of parental discipline, their own positive temperaments, and empathy toward others. Given these patterns of preliminary findings, assisting parents in becoming good “emotion coaches,” as well as helping them work through their own forgiveness issues, could help facilitate the development of forgiveness in their children.
The development of forgiveness
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Ph.D.
Our research examined how children developed their understanding of forgiveness. There exists a paradigm which changes the manner in which we view all aspects of social interaction, beginning with the basic interactions that occur between infant and caregiver. Communication, at this foundational level is a continuous unfolding of individual actions constantly being modified by the continuously changing aspects of another.
Forgiveness in families
Ivan Miller, Ph.D., Professor, Psychiatry
and Human Behavior
One hundred fifty individuals from seventy families completed the Forgiveness in Families Interview and a battery of other measures assessing forgiveness, family functioning and individual adaptation. Using this data, we presented data investigating the relationships between forgiveness, family functioning and individual coping and adaptation.
Forgiveness and alcohol related outcomes among people
seeking substance abuse treatment
Jon Webb, Ph.D.
Forgiveness, lacking empirical examination in addiction, is highly relevant to addressing problematic alcohol use (e.g. resentments). We presented findings from a longitudinal study exploring the relationship between religiousness and spirituality (RS) and alcohol use disorders among adults seeking outpatient substance abuse treatment. We examined forgiveness of others (FO), of self (FS), by God (FG), and total forgiveness (TF) and expected positive relationships with RS and negative relationships with alcohol outcomes at baseline (t1; N=157) and six-month follow-up (t2; N=126). Participants were about ⅔ male, ¾ Caucasian, and 39 years old with 14 years of education and DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses were mainly alcohol dependence (>90%). Many significant expected correlations between forgiveness and RS were observed cross-sectionally at t1, mostly FG and TF. At t3 many were observed across forgiveness types, except FS. Significant correlations were also observed with alcohol outcomes. At t1, all types of forgiveness were related to many outcomes in expected directions. At t3, only FS was related to alcohol problems (AP; -.31), FG to AA Involvement (AAI; .28), and TF to AP (-.30) and AAI (.22). Hierarchical regression analyses predicting alcohol outcomes at t1 indicated relationships mainly with FS (Full Model R2 = .14 to .23; unstandardized B = -.84 to -7.3). At t3, AP was predicted by FS (R2 = .17; B = -3.5); AAI by FG (R2 = .22; B = .59); and unemployment predicted Percent Days Abstinent and Percent Heavy Drinking Days (R2 = .16 & .15, respectively; B = -12.5 & 9.4, respectively). Significant predictive longitudinal relationships of t3 alcohol outcomes were primarily observed among corresponding t1 outcomes. Forgiveness appears to have a salutary, yet complex effect in RS and alcohol related variables; varying by type. However, prediction of alcohol outcome seems primarily evident in cross-sectional analyses only. Clarification of each effect is warranted. (Supported by Fetzer Institute/NIH grant R21AA13061 & NIH grant T32AA07477.)
An interview study into the factors related to
forgiveness in interpersonal contexts
Eleanor Wertheim, Ph.D., Associate
Professor, School of Psychological Science
La
Victims of criminal transgressions can receive compensation from various sources including: government compensation agencies, compensation orders instructing offenders to pay compensation, and as a result of victim-offender reconciliation programs. Although some research has been conducted into the effects of source of compensation on victims’ satisfaction with outcome, no research has looked at victims’ forgiveness of offenders in various compensatory contexts. Thus, the aims of this study were to investigate the effects of source of compensation on victim forgiveness and satisfaction with outcome. The effects of trait empathy on forgiveness were also examined. Seventy-five participants (age M=33.67 years, SD=14.28) read a standard scenario describing a non-violent property crime and rated their responses to the offender. Participants then read one of four outcome scenarios (no compensation, compensation from a government agency, compensation forced from the offender, and compensation provided voluntarily from the offender) to which participants were randomly assigned. Participants rated degree of forgiveness towards the offender, satisfaction with outcome of the process and rated perceived characteristics and response to the offender. All participants who received compensation were significantly more satisfied with outcome than participants who did not receive compensation. Participants who received compensation provided voluntarily by the offender were significantly more forgiving than participants in the remaining three conditions. There was a significant interaction effect between condition and trait empathy indicating that participants with high and low trait empathy reacted differently to the compensation conditions. Results were interpreted to indicate that conciliatory gestures by offenders are only likely to facilitate forgiveness in victims when such gestures are voluntary. Victims are also more likely to be satisfied with outcome when compensation is received than when no compensation is received, regardless of the source of compensation. Whether some compensatory procedures are more beneficial than others is contingent upon the aims of restorative justice.
Forgiveness:
Theory, research, practice
Joe
Ventimiglia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department
of Sociology
The paper, first, presents a comprehensive theoretical framework for
understanding forgiveness; second, reports a study of negotiating forgiveness
in the wake of interpersonal betrayal, using social construction as a frame of
reference; and, third, recommends certain clinical instrumentation useful in
intervening in cases involving forgiveness.