Assessing the Role of Honour Culture and Image Concerns in Impeding Apologies

Abstract

Despite the known benefits of apologies, people often fail to apologize for wrongdoings. We examined the role of a cultural logic of honor—where apologizing may clash with concerns about maintaining an image of strength and toughness—in reluctance to apologize. Using general population samples from 14 societies in Mediterranean, East Asian, and Anglo-Western regions (N = 5,471), we explored links between honor values and norms, image concerns, and apology outcomes using multilevel mediation analyses. Members of groups with stronger honor endorsement reported stronger image concerns about apologizing relative to their concerns about not apologizing, which in turn predicted greater reluctance to apologize and fewer past apologies. However, groups with stronger honor endorsement did not show greater reluctance to apologize overall, and some individual-level facets of honor predicted better apology outcomes. Our results highlight the importance of considering honor as a multifaceted construct and including contextual factors and processes when studying reconciliation processes and obstacles to apologies