Exploring the psychological processes underlying interpersonal forgiveness: The superiority of motivated reasoning over empathy

How transgressor's moral identity leads to high-quality apologies: The positive effects of guilt

Comprehensive apologies are effective strategies to solve interpersonal conflict and promote reconciliation. However, transgressors tend to avoid providing comprehensive apologies because it is more threatening to do so. As a result, transgressors usually offer perfunctory apologies and hinder their own chances of being forgiven. Given the importance of promoting high-quality apologies, we investigate the role of moral identity in increasing apology comprehensiveness. Across three studies using a combination of experimental and correlational designs with autobiographical recall paradigm, we demonstrate that transgressors high in moral identity feel guiltier after committing a transgression. As a result, they offer more comprehensive apologies. Moreover, the effects of guilt on transgressors' apologizing are conditional on the perceived apology effectiveness. Guilt is particularly important to boost apology quality when perceived apology effectiveness is low. In such cases, guilt leads transgressors to make more reparative efforts towards reconciliation despite the low possibility of apology's acceptance.

Prestige Orientation and Reconciliation in the Workplace

Human social hierarchies comprise two distinct bases of status: dominance and prestige. One can acquire high social status not only by physically intimidating others (dominance) but also by providing information goods to others (prestige). Given that prestige-oriented individuals need to be liked and accepted by others, we hypothesized that they would be more eager to reconcile with their coworkers when they were involved in interpersonal conflicts in their workplaces. Study 1 asked 487 respondents about their conciliatory behaviors in response to workplace conflicts. Prestige-oriented individuals were more apologetic (when they hurt someone in their workplace) and forgiving (when they were hurt by someone). However, analyses of a subsample of respondents who had conflicts with their followers showed that organizational leaders' prestige orientation was associated only with forgiveness but not with apologetic behavior. Study 2 collected comparable data from 678 organizational leaders. Study 2 confirmed the results of the subsample analysis of Study 1. Compared with leaders low in prestige orientation, leaders high in prestige orientation were more likely to forgive their subordinates; however, they were no more likely to apologize to their subordinates.

Cognitive bias and attitude distortion of a priority decision

The resource saving bias is a cognitive bias describing how resource savings from improvements of high-productivity units are overestimated compared to improvements of less productive units. Motivational reasoning describes how attitudes, here towards private/public health care, distort decisions based on numerical facts. Participants made a choice between two productivity increase options with the goal of saving doctor resources. The options described productivity increases in low-/high-productivity private/public emergency rooms. Jointly, the biases produced 78% incorrect decisions. The cognitive bias was stronger than the motivational bias. Verbal justifications of the decisions revealed elaborations of the problem beyond the information provided, biased integration of quantitative information, change of goal of decision, and motivational attitude biases. Most (83%) of the incorrect decisions were based on (incorrect) mathematical justifications illustrating the resource saving bias. Participants who had better scores on a cognitive test made poorer decisions. Women who gave qualitative justifications to a greater extent than men made more correct decision. After a first decision, participants were informed about the correct decision with a mathematical explanation. Only 6.3% of the participants corrected their decisions after information illustrating facts resistance. This could be explained by psychological sunk cost and coherence theories. Those who made the wrong choice remembered the facts of the problem better than those who made a correct choice.

Exploring the Psychological Processes That Underlie Interpersonal Forgiveness: Replication and Extension of the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness

When, why, and how does interpersonal forgiveness occur? These questions guided recent research that compared the relative abilities of empathy versus motivated reasoning models to account for the influence of relationship closeness on interpersonal forgiveness. Consistent support was provided for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. This model hypothesizes that, following relationship transgressions, relationship closeness leads to a desire to maintain a relationship. Desire to maintain a relationship leads to motivated reasoning. And motivated reasoning fosters interpersonal forgiveness. The goal of the present research was to examine two concerns that emerged from the initial support for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. First, were the measures of motivated reasoning and interpersonal forgiveness conflated, thus reducing the potential for empathy to account for interpersonal forgiveness? Second, did the analytic estimation used reduce the power to detect the mediational role of empathy? The present research examined these questions. When motivated reasoning was measured by thought listings (in addition to the original questionnaire items) and when the analytic estimation provided greater power, the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness was replicated.

Self-Esteem Moderates the Effect of Compromising Thinking on Forgiveness Among Chinese Early Adolescents

Forgiveness contributes to positive social relationships, which is critical for individual development, particularly for early adolescents. Most previous studies focused on the unique roles of cognitive factors (e.g., compromising thinking) and personality traits (e.g., self-esteem) in the process of developing forgiveness. However, sporadic research has examined their interactive effect on forgiveness from an integrated perspective. Given that forgiveness has been categorized into decisional and emotional forgiveness, this study aimed to examine the effects of compromising thinking on two types of forgiveness, and the moderating effects of self-esteem on the association between compromising thinking and forgiveness among early adolescents. A total of 1,009 Chinese primary and secondary school students (50.4% males; M_age = 11.75, SD = 1.27) were recruited to complete three self-reported questionnaires. The results showed that compromising thinking predicted decisional forgiveness but not emotional forgiveness. Furthermore, self-esteem was identified to moderate the conditional effects of compromising thinking on decisional and emotional forgiveness. These findings advance a better understanding of the construct and mechanism of forgiveness, which can provide insights for targeted forgiveness interventions among early adolescents, such as compromising thinking instructions and self-esteem enhancement programs.

Forgiveness, Gratitude, Happiness, and Prosocial Bystander Behavior in Bullying

The relationships among character strengths (forgiveness and gratitude), happiness, and prosocial bystander behavior in bullying were analyzed. The sample includes 500 (early adolescents) and 500 (middle adolescents) of both genders, between 12 and 18 years old (M age = 14.70, SD = 1.58). Two structural equation models were calculated. Results of the first model indicated that forgiveness, gratitude, and happiness had a direct positive relation with prosocial bystander behavior. Furthermore, human strengths were indirectly related to prosocial behavior in bullying for this effect in happiness. The second model showed that prosocial bystander behavior had a positive effect on human strengths and happiness. Multigroup analyses indicated that gender and stage of adolescence did not moderate the relations found in the model. Overall findings suggest a reciprocal relationship between character strengths, happiness, and prosocial bystander behavior.

Moderating Effects of Forgiveness on Relationship Between Empathy and Health-Related Quality of Life in Hemodialysis Patients: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

CONTEXT

Health-related quality of life (QOL) is a recommended clinical tool to assess hemodialysis patients and a primary end point to observe the effectiveness of overall disease management. Empathy is associated with positive outcomes such as pain relief and reduced anxiety and distress. Numerous studies have tested the relationships among empathy, forgiveness, and QOL; however, a mechanism of forgiveness has not been fully explored in hemodialysis patients.

OBJECTIVES

To test the relationship among empathy and health-related QOL and confirm the moderating effects of forgiveness on relationship between empathy and health-related QOL among hemodialysis patients.

METHODS

In a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted from September to December 2017, 457 hemodialysis patients from five hospitals filled out the Heartland Forgiveness Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C, Kidney Disease Questionnaire, and general information. The data were analyzed using SPSS, and structural equation modeling was used to address the relationships among empathy, forgiveness, and health-related QOL.

RESULTS

Empathy was significantly positively associated with health-related QOL. The proposed model had a good fit to the data. Forgiveness was found to play a partial mediating role between empathy and health-related QOL.

CONCLUSION

The results imply that empathy significantly directly and indirectly influences health-related QOL. Empathy among hemodialysis patients should be monitored and effectively managed to improve positive effects on their health-related QOL. Nurses should consider implementing empathy interventions with an emphasis on building forgiveness strategies to help hemodialysis patients improve their health-related QOL.