Conceptualizations of Forgiveness
Abstract
The objectives of the survey were to examine the extent to which (1) laypeople agree with conceptualizations of forgiveness encountered in literature, notably that forgiveness supposes the replacement of negative emotions toward the offender by positive emotions, (2) forgiveness is a process that can only take place between an offended and an offender who is known to the offended, and (3) forgiveness is not a process that devalues the forgiven but a process that encourages him/her to behave better in the future. It was also aimed at examining the extent to which parents and children share the same conceptualizations about forgiveness. A total of 343 students participated in the study as well as their mothers and fathers. Four conceptualization factors were identified: Change of Heart, More-Than-Dyadic Process, Encourages Repentance, and Immoral Behavior. Only a minority of participants agreed with the idea that forgiving supposes regaining affection or sympathy toward the offender (23%), and with the idea that forgiveness can encourage repentance from the forgiven (33%). More participants, however, agreed with the ideas that the forgiver can be somebody in close relationship with the offended and that the forgiven can be an unknown offender or an abstract institution (46%). Very few participants (4%) agreed with the idea that forgiveness is immoral. Parents and their children tended to conceptualize forgiveness similarly.
References
1994). Guilt: An interpersonal approach.. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 243– 267.
(1992). Forgiveness: A bold choice for a peaceful heart. . New York: Bantam Books. .
(1998). Defining forgiveness: An empirical exploration of process and role.. American Journal of Family Therapy, 26, 281– 292.
(2001). Political forgiveness. . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. .
(2000). Helping clients forgive: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope. . Washington: A.P.A. .
(1998). Exploring forgiveness. . Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. .
(2000). Expressing forgiveness and repentance.. In M. McCullough, K.I. Pargament, & C. Thorensen (Eds.), Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice (pp.133- 155). New York: Guilford. .
(1998). Receiving forgiveness as moral education: A theoretical analysis and initial investigation.. Journal of Moral Education, 27, 71– 87.
(2001). Forgivingness: A Congo-France comparison.. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 504– 511.
(1999). An equity theory analysis of the impact of forgiveness and retribution on transgressor compliance.. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 864– 872.
(2002). Before forgiving: Cautionary views of forgiveness in psychotherapy. . New York: Oxford University Press. .
(1984). Rules mothers and sons use to integrate intent and damage information in their moral judgments.. Child Development, 55, 2106– 2113.
(2001). Vengefulness: Relationships with forgiveness, rumination, well being, and the Big Five.. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 601– 610.
(2000). The psychology of forgiveness: History, conceptual issues, and overview.. In M. McCullough, K.I. Pargament & C. Thorensen (Eds.), Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice (pp.1-16). New York: Guilford. .
(1997). Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 321– 336.
(1998). Forgivingness: Factorial structure in a sample of young, middle-aged, and elderly adults.. European Psychologist, 3, 289– 297.
(1987). Wrongdoing and forgiveness.. Philosophy, 62, 499– 508.
(1995). An ethic for enemies: Forgiveness in politics. . New York: Oxford University Press. .
(1996). The art of forgiving. . New York: Ballantine Books. .
(1982). Common sense as psychosocial reality: A reply to Sjöberg.. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 23, 79– 82.
(1997). The structure of psychological common sense. . Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. .
(1991). Mea culpa: A sociology of apology and reconciliation. . Stanford: Stanford University Press. .
(1998). The function and role of forgiveness in working with couples and families.. Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 3– 19.
(1998). The pyramid model of forgiveness: Some interdisciplinary speculations about forgiveness and the promotion of forgiveness.. In E.L. Worthington (Ed.), Dimensions of forgiveness: Psychological research, theological perspectives (pp.107-138). Radnor, PA: The John Templeton Foundation Press. .
(1998). An empathy-humility-commitment model of forgiveness applied within family dyads.. Journal of Family Therapy, 20, 59– 76.
(2000). Forgiveness usually takes time: A lesson learned by studying interventions to promote forgiveness.. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 28, 3– 20.
(