The interpersonal relationships an individual establishes and maintains in his or her life offer quality and meaning in one's life. The relationships parents, spouses, children, extended family and friends provide for a valuable social network. This is particularly true as these relationships work at a basic level in people's lives. These interpersonal relationships begin mutual attraction, develop respect and trust and are sustained by the belief that each person will act in the other's best interest (Flanigan, 1992).Despite the best intentions of those involved in a given relationship, mistakes may be made, considerations of the other person(s) may be abandoned and the other's best interest may be put aside. Interpersonal conflicts are a normal feature of human life, which must be dealt across the entire lifespan. Conflicts may range from simple divergence in preferences to deep hurts and severe transgressions. Such transgressions are accompanied by inner turmoil involving emotions like anger, anxiety and sadness. Negative emotions are accompanied by motivations like wanting revenge or seeking to avoid the rejecting person (McCullough et al., 1997; McCullough et al., 1998).What is forgiveness?Traditionally, definitions of forgiveness have fallen into two camps: foigiving involving (a) reduction of negative experiences (e.g., emotions, motivations, behavior, cognition; i.e., Ashton, Paunonen, Helmes & Jackson, 1998) or (b) both a reduction of negative experience and a resulting positive experience toward the offender (Fincham, Beach, & Davila, 2004). Worthington (2005) observed that when strangers or people in poor or nonvalued relationships offend, the focus is on reducing the negative. In valued, continuing relationships, the focus is on both reducing the negative and then (if possible) increasing the positive.Forgiveness is a constructive communicative act that allows individuals to cope transgressions as well as transgressors rather than negatively respond to hurtful experiences (Metts & Cupach, 2007; Worthington, Van Oyen Witvliet, Pietrini, & Miller, 2007). Fincham, Stanley and Beach (2007) indicated that forgiveness serves as a dyadic self-repair strategy with the potential to influence exchanges over time by changing the degree to which each partner's behavior serves to determine the other's response. Forgiveness does not always lead to relational repair; however, it does allow forgivers to view transgressors in a positive regard and to move forward into future relationships (Metts & Cupach, 2007).Forgiveness is not the pardoning or excusing of a hurt or transgression (Enright, Gassin, & Wu, 1992; Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000; Smedes, 1984). Forgiveness does not require that the consequences of an offense be nullified or set aside. By forgiving, an individual is not required to refrain from pursuing justice or relinquishing his or her access to justice.Excusing or condoning a transgression can still leave the offended party bittemess where forgiveness strives to extinguish these negative feelings (Enright & Fitzgibbons, 2000). Overall, researchers suggest that forgiveness is a positive method for coping a negative relational experience in that it benefits the forgiver through a reorientation of emotions, thoughts, or acts toward the transgressor (Wade & Worthington, 2005). Essentially, forgiving others' transgressions is a pro-social act that can benefit and maintain relationships.Decisional forgiveness and emotional forgivenessThere are two different types of forgiving (Exline et al., 2003). Decisional forgiveness is making an intent statement (to oneself) that one intends to put aside vengeance and avoidance (unless it is dangerous to continue interaction) and to treat the other person as someone of value. Emotional forgiveness involves replacing negative emotions associated unforgiveness positive other-oriented emotions (such as empathy, sympathy, compassion or love for the offender). …