Forgiveness
The perception of remorse is essential to an apology, as such the greater the perception of remorse the more effective the apology. An effective apology reduces negative consequences and facilitating cognitive and behavioral changes associated with forgiveness. With empathy as the mediator between apologies and forgiveness and remorse as the essential part to an apology, one can expect empathy to mediate perceived remorse forgiveness. Remorse may signal that one is suffering psychologically because of their negative behavior, which leads to empathy from the second party who then will express forgiveness. In a study by James Davis and Greg Gold, 170 university students filled out questionnaires about forgiveness within interpersonal relationships. Davis and Greg's findings suggest that when a victim perceives an apology to be remorseful then he/she believes the negative behavior will not occur again, increased empathy results in increased forgiveness, and future offenses could be easily forgiven.
Read more about this topic: Remorse
Famous quotes containing the word forgiveness:
“You can’t change what happened between you and your ex-spouse, but you can change your attitude about it. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that what your ex did was right or that you condone what he or she did; it simply means that you no longer want to hold a grudge. Forgiveness is not a gift for the other person; it is a purely selfish act that allows you to put the past behind you.”
—Stephanie Marston (20th century)
“Absolute virtue is impossible and the republic of forgiveness leads, with implacable logic, to the republic of the guillotine.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance. I think it is enough if the man does no wrong hereafter.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)