Empathy as a predictor of high‐quality interpersonal apologies

Abstract

AbstractIf left unresolved, interpersonal offenses can poison people's relationships. Fortunately, transgressors can promote reconciliation with the victim by offering comprehensive and non‐defensive apologies. What predicts whether transgressors go the extra mile to offer these high‐quality apologies? In Study 1 (N = 289), participants who reported greater state empathy toward their romantic partner offered more comprehensive and less defensive apologies for an unresolved offense they had committed. In Study 2 (N = 150), participants who reported greater state empathy toward a friend offered more comprehensive and less defensive apologies for an imagined offense. In Study 3 (N = 251), participants who were experimentally induced to experience high (vs. low) empathy offered more comprehensive apologies for unresolved transgressions across a variety of relationship types. These studies are the first to provide experimental and behavioral evidence of the empathy–apology link, and suggest that fostering empathy might be a powerful way to promote more constructive conflict responses in interpersonal relationships.