A Meta-Analysis of Relationship Quality and Transgression Severity as Predictors of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Forgiveness

This item is only available electronically.Forgiveness is a nebulous construct. There are many ways to define forgiveness, and as many ways to measure it. The two predominant ways to measure forgiveness are with relationship-focused measures (Interpersonal) and self-focused measures (Intrapersonal). With inconsistencies in predictor outcomes of forgiveness reported in forgiveness literature, this meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether the type of forgiveness measure used impacted upon these inconsistencies. To explore this issue, the current study meta-analysed results from 96 independent studies, exploring the correlations between Intrapersonal and Interpersonal forgiveness measures with two established predictors of forgiveness: Relationship Quality and Transgression Severity, to determine whether these predictor outcomes differed based on the type of measure used. The study hypothesised that Interpersonal measures would exhibit larger correlations between forgiveness and Relationship Quality and smaller correlations with Transgressions Severity, in comparison to Intrapersonal measures. Additionally, key study characteristics including the study design, transgression methodology and predictor measurement, were explored. Results demonstrated that contrary to expectations, Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures reported similar effects on both predictors; with medium, positive correlations for Relationship Quality (r = .42, r = .38, respectively) and small negative correlations for Transgression Severity (r = -.26, r = -.23, respectively). These findings suggest that Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures are consistently measuring forgiveness. However, additional exploratory analyses run on common Intrapersonal and Interpersonal measures showed discrepancy in predictor outcomes among the measure types. Thus, future research should investigate additional forgiveness predictors such as intent and apology, to shed more understandings into this matter.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 201

The Effects of Power and Assurance of No Future Transgressions on Post-Transgression Responses

The primary aim of this Dissertation was to investigate the effect of power on victims’ decision to seek revenge against, or hold a grudge against, or forgive the transgressor following a transgression. The secondary aim of this Dissertation was to examine one potential boundary condition as well as potential mechanisms that underlie these effects. Guided by the approach/inhibition theory of power (Keltner et al., 2003), it was hypothesized that power would have a differential effect on post-transgression responses. As predicted, Study 1 showed that power had a positive effect on revenge and a negative effect on grudge. Also as predicted, Study 2 showed that approach motivation was one mechanism underlying the power-revenge relation and inhibition motivation was one mechanism underlying the power-grudge relation. In both studies, power did not have an effect on forgiveness. In addition, Studies 3 and 4 demonstrated the moderating role of assurance of no future transgression on the relation between power and post-transgression responses. Under conditions of assurance, powerful and powerless victims were less likely to seek revenge and hold a grudge, respectively, and were more likely to forgive. Finally and contrary to the prediction, results from Study 4 showed that there was no evidence for the mediational role of victims’ ‘lack of a need to teach the transgressor a lesson’ and ‘safety’ on the moderation between power and assurance on post-transgression responses. Possible explanations of these results and limitations of this research are discussed

Designing Amends for Lawful Civilian Casualties

In January 2015, a U.S.-initiated drone strike in Pakistan accidentally killed U.S. citizen Warren Weinstein and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto. President Obama compensated the families and gave a long speech in which he indicated that he want[ed] to express our grief and condolences to the families of two hostages. The President justified his declassification and disclosure of this strike because the [] families deserved to know the truth. He also offered the following mea culpa: As President and as Commander-in-Chief, I take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations . . . . I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States Government, I offer our deepest apologies

Performing Forgiveness-Seeking: Do Magic Words Comfort?

Forgiveness is a process culminating in relationship renegotiation and transformation following the offering and acceptance of amends. The culmination of the forgiveness process is facilitated by the acknowledgement of a transgression, as well as identifying the harmed person and the transgressor. However, responsibility for a transgression may not always be clear, potentially compelling a perceived transgressor to make amends for a transgression they did not commit. Situated within the context of a person accusing a friend of a transgression, a perceived transgressor reframing their role to that of a supportive friend is examined as a potential solution to this problem. Using the communication theory of identity (CTI) and message design logic (MDL) as guiding theories, identity gaps are examined as antecedents of communicative interaction by influencing changes in relational and interpersonal communication satisfaction, as well as ongoing negative affect and depressive symptoms. Additionally, different messages (expressive, conventional, and rhetorical) are analyzed to determine participant evaluations as to the helpfulness, supportiveness, sensitivity, appropriateness, and effectiveness of these messages in reframing the perceived transgressor’s role to a supportive friend. Results concern different identity gaps being involved in reductions of relational and interpersonal communication satisfaction and increases in ongoing negative affect, and rhetorical messages being evaluated as highly helpful, supportive, sensitive, appropriate, and effective. Theoretical and methodological implications for both CTI and MDL are discussed, as well as connections of the findings to gaslighting and possible future research on the negative aspects of forgiveness as a communication phenomenon

In the eyes of others : the role of honor concerns in explaining and preventing insult-elicited aggression

Much of the previous work investigating the impact of honor on conflict management has focused on how people endorsing honor values respond to possibly offensive interactions. Despite the accumulation of this research, it is yet unclear why people endorsing the ideal of honor respond more fiercely after being offended. Moreover, hardly any systematic attempts have been undertaken to identify ways in which these negative ramifications of offensive encounters can be prevented or reduced. The discoveries made in the context of this dissertation paint a more balanced picture of the effect of honor concern on conflict management and inform us on possible avenues of effective conflict intervention.NWOSocial decision makin