Positive psychological characteristics and interpersonal forgiveness: Identifying the unique contribution of emotional intelligence abilities, Big Five traits, gratitude and optimism

Abstract

Theory and research have underlined the key role that specific positive psychological characteristics play in the process of forgiving others. However, no studies have examined the joint contribution of the four specific psychological characteristics of emotional intelligence abilities, Big Five, gratitude and optimism in interpersonal forgiveness. This study of 535 undergraduate students assessed whether these four positive psychological characteristics would each contribute uniquely and differentially to the prediction of the two components of transgression-related interpersonal motivations when considered simultaneously in the analyses. Partial support was found for the role of personality traits and emotional intelligence abilities as predictors. Regression analyses indicated that the motivation to revenge, but not the motivation to avoid, was predicted by neuroticism, agreeableness, openness and managing emotions scores, beyond the level attributable to socio-demographic variables and other well-known dimensions. These findings expand on previous studies into the antecedents of forgiveness and increase this body of knowledge by demonstrating that specific psychological characteristics, in particular, Big Five traits and managing emotions, may contribute to individual variation in some transgression-related interpersonal motivations.