Forgiveness: Who Does It and How Do They Do It?

Author: Michael E. McCullough¹

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science, Volume 10, Number 6, December 2001 , pp. 194-197(4)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

Forgiveness is a suite of prosocial motivational changes that occurs after a person has incurred a transgression. People who are inclined to forgive their transgressors tend to be more agreeable, more emotionally stable, and, some research suggests, more spiritually or religiously inclined than people who do not tend to forgive their transgressors. Several psychological processes appear to foster or inhibit forgiveness. These processes include empathy for the transgressor, generous attributions and appraisals regarding the transgression and transgressor, and rumination about the transgression. Interpreting these findings in light of modern trait theory would help to create a more unified understanding of how personality might influence forgiveness.

Keywords: forgiveness; research; review; personality; theory

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/1467-8721.00147

Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

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