Forgiveness research has focused almost exclusively on interpersonal transgressions committed in close relationships. Consequently, less is known about factors informing forgiveness of non-intimate actors. The current study addresses these gaps by investigating correlates of forgiveness over racial discrimination among African American men (N=171). Specifically, we explore relationships between...

Two studies examined how non-interpersonal forgiveness (when there is no social relationship between the transgressor and forgiver) related to coping and involuntary responses to stress, psychological distress, and religiosity. Three to six weeks after September 11th, 2001, forgiveness had non-linear associations with other responses to the terrorist attacks. Among college students (N=488), tho...

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess perspectives on the acceptability and the potential applicability of a forgiveness education in patients with fibromyalgia. The concept and tools of forgiveness were presented to thirteen women (age: 40 54 years) with a previous diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Subjects participated in 1 of 2 focus groups following a 90-minute education session in w...

Background and Objectives: University faculty members, as the largest providers of educational services, must enjoy a good quality of working life in order to provide excellent educational services to their students. Thus, this paper aimed to examine the relationship between their quality of working life and interpersonal forgiveness. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted ...

Despite the oft-cited positive effects of an apology on forgiveness, forgiveness does not always follow. In three studies we tested the ironic notion that, following an interpersonal transgression, an apology following an attribution of intent might further hinder, rather than benefit, the forgiveness process. The findings of three studies were systematically replicated and supported our primar...

The authors examined the effects of writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression on forgiveness. Participants (N = 304) were randomly assigned to one of three 20-min writing tasks in which they wrote about either (a) traumatic features of the most recent interpersonal transgression they had suffered, (b) personal benefits resulting from the transgression, or (c) a control topic ...

In 3 studies, the authors investigated whether within-persons increases in rumination about an interpersonal transgression were associated with within-persons reductions in forgiveness. Results supported this hypothesis. The association of transient increases in rumination with transient reductions in forgiveness appeared to be mediated by anger, but not fear, toward the transgressor. The assoc...