Forgiveness Process Research Articles

“asking with tears forgiveness”: Weeping as ‘Gentling’ in Blake's Milton

AbstractIn this article I wish to counter a critical perception of Blake as a ‘hard’ and unforgiving poet through a reading of his epic Milton as a conscious study in the nature of forgiveness. Specifically, I frame Blake's model of forgiveness as integral to his belief that every human has an inherent right and potential to participate in a divine body of imagination, in order to conduct a study of how Blake sees this as being achieved. Our divinity, and therefore our humanity in Blake's terms, is made manifest, not through hardness, supremacy and strength that allows us to overcome difficulties, but through softness and gentleness. Specifically, I draw on the theologian Stanley Hauerwas' notion of ‘gentling’ (“Christ's Gentle Man,” 2010) to define this softness, a term he develops from a reading of the beatitudes of Matthew's gospel to forward an understanding of the divine, not as strong, but as broken and mourning, to argue that Blake attempts to gentle and forgive fragmented individuals by presenting them with moments of weeping in his poetry, an action that calls the weeping figure into divinity through a forgiving process of meeting, of both the self and others. Alongside Hauerwas' notion of gentling, Martin Buber's I and Thou (1937) also offers a way of situating forgiveness in the difference between hard and soft relations, as this article illustrates. The absence of connection or ‘meeting’ in Buber's ‘I–It’ relationship, I argue, is founded on ‘hardness’, the ‘I’ seeing the other only as an object from which he or she is removed. The ‘I–Thou’ relationship, however, is gentling and mutual, expressive of Blake's vision of forgiveness and its importance within the divine human.

Forgiveness and Revenge: The Conflicting Needs of Dependents and Self-Critics in Relationships

The ability to forgive in the face of conflict is an important part of maintaining relationships, particularly for individuals with dependent and self-critical personality styles who can become depressed in response to interpersonal stress. This research examined the forgiveness process in relation to these personality styles in two separate studies. Study 1 was a nonexperimental retrospective study in a community sample of adults. Study 2 was an experimental study involving the manipulation of a transgression and relationship threat within the laboratory. The results of both studies confirmed a predicted 3-way interaction between self-criticism, dependency, and relationship threat on forgiveness and revenge. Specifically, self-critics who were low in dependency were more vengeful and less forgiving when their relationship was threatened. However, self critics who were also higher in dependency were more forgiving and less vengeful after experiencing a relationship threatening transgression. Results showe...

The Politics of Apology and Forgiveness

The politics of apologies and forgiveness is present in individual pastoral care and psychotherapy as well as in the broader context of the world in which we live. Forgiveness is a process that names harm and injustices while also offering possibilities for change, ultimately providing individuals, families, and communities with deeper and more profound ways of imagining relational justice. Such a perspective illuminates the ways in which harm and damage can be individual and systemic in nature, as well as how struggles over meaningful forgiveness are part of larger political realities. As one part of this process, apologies that account for the multiple ways power functions can assist individuals and communities in creating more justice-oriented forgiveness processes. Pastoral care specialists are wise to recognize that apologies and forgiveness always engage social, relational, political, and theological realities.

Forgiveness aversion: developing a motivational state measure of perceived forgiveness risks

Given the demonstrated psychological, physical, and social benefits of forgiveness, it is striking that there are still strong impediments to its attainment. In this paper, we introduce the multi-dimensional construct of forgiveness aversion, an offense-specific motivational state based on perceived forgiveness risks. The construct and our proposed measure (the Forgiveness Aversion Scale) are composed of three related dimensions: unreadiness, self-protection, and face concerns. Unreadiness refers to the ongoing emotional turmoil that keeps victims from sincerely forgiving. Self-protection refers to the concerns about how offenders will interpret forgiveness. Finally, face concerns reflect victims’ concerns for their reputation. Four studies were completed to develop a state measure of forgiveness aversion through correlation, structural equations modeling, longitudinal analysis, and a hypothetical scenario experiment. Results of four studies reveal differential predictors of the three dimensions of forgiveness aversion and demonstrate that our understanding of the forgiveness process and impediments thereto is enhanced by addressing situation-specific impediments to forgiveness.

Research on religion/spirituality and forgiveness: A meta-analytic review.

In the present article, we review the literature on religion/spirituality (R/S) and forgiveness using meta-analysis. R/S was positively related to trait forgivingness (i.e., across relationships and situations; r .29), state forgiveness (i.e., of a specific offense; r .15), and self-forgiveness (r .12). Contextual measures of R/S more proximal to the forgiveness process were more strongly related to state forgiveness than were dispositional measures of R/S. Measures of one’s relationship with the sacred were more strongly related to self-forgiveness than were dispositional R/S measures. We discuss implications for next steps in the study of R/S and forgiveness.

Can Christian Divorce Support Groups Influence Forgiveness and Health Outcomes in Black Divorcees? A Phenomenological Investigation

Christian divorce support groups offer a community-based approach to help divorcees heal from their divorce. Yet, their effectiveness in ethnically diverse populations has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate if Christian divorce support groups influence the forgiveness process and lead to improved self-reported health outcomes in Black Christian divorcees. Surveys and focus groups were used to evaluate key variables in 43 participants. Findings demonstrate participation in Christian divorce support groups positively influences forgiveness levels and health outcomes in Black Christians. These findings have religious, mental health, and clinical implications.

Koontz: The Very Worst Takings Decision Ever?

This article argues that Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, the most widely discussed of the Supreme Court’s takings trilogy in the 2012-13 term, represents a major, unprincipled break from prior law and casts an unfortunate pall of confusion and uncertainty over takings doctrine, partly reversing the Court’s recent, successful effort to make takings doctrine more coherent and predictable. The Court ruled that the relatively heightened standard of judicial review established by the Supreme Court for so-called “development exactions” in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard applies both (1) when the government denies a development permit after the developer rejects a government demand for an exaction as a condition of project approval, and (2) when a permit condition requires a developer to pay or expend money to mitigate project impacts. In so ruling, the Court rejected the position that claims challenging such government orders should be evaluated under either the Court’s relatively forgiving regulatory takings analysis or deferential due process analysis. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a dissent for herself and three other justices, arguing that the case did not involve an actual demand triggering Nollan and Dolan and that the standards established by those cases do not apply to permit conditions requiring the expenditure of money. This article contends that the Koontz decision is one of the worst decisions, if the not the worst decision, in the pantheon of Supreme Court takings cases. In doctrinal terms, the majority opinion flagrantly contradicts or ignores established precedent, fails to acknowledge its departure from prior law, and does not attempt to offer any new, coherent justifications for its novel holdings. As a practical matter, the decision creates a perverse, wasteful incentive for local officials to decline to work cooperatively with developers in designing projects that make business sense and protect the interests of the community. Finally, the decision injects new uncertainty into takings law, setting the stage for future debates over the legitimacy and appropriate scope of intrusive judicial review of local land use decision-making, including whether local governments retain the authority to reject development proposals based on unacceptable project impacts without triggering stringent judicial review.

Forgiveness in Psychotherapy: The Key to Healing

The process of forgiveness in psychotherapy involves both letting go of resentment toward the offender and replacing the resentment with mindful awareness and empathy. By reconceptualizing past transgressions with a kinder, more equivocal outlook, clients attain a shift in perspective that is spiritual and cognitive in nature, thereby reducing symptomology and enhancing their quality of life. Such insights bring clients toward their inner Buddha nature, which transcends the suffering associated with clinging to past hurts and resentment. This process is facilitated by techniques such as concentrative meditation and identifying with transgressors through perspective taking. Forgiveness therapy improves clients' sense of well-being by promoting feelings of peacefullness toward oneself as well as others.

Analysis of Louise Bourgeois' Work from the Point of View of Forgiveness Process Focusing on Change Process of Themes and Media

Analysis of Louise Bourgeois' Work from the Point of View of Forgiveness Process Focusing on Change Process of Themes and Media

A Box Full of Darkness

This paper is based on a piano piece commissioned by the British and Ireland School of Feminist Theology (BISFT) for its anniversary conference. It interrogates the situations in which the sections of the piece were created through the lens of conceptions of failure. It explores religious experience and identity in mental health contexts and the development of groups associated with Feminist Theology over the past 20 years. It examines the repression of the feminine, the place of anger in religion and therapy and its relation to a theology of the crucifixion and the processes of forgiveness. It integrates poetry into its text and sets out the role of the arts in process theology.

Effects of Timing and Sincerity of an Apology on Satisfaction and Changes in Negative Feelings During Conflicts

Using attribution theory, this study examined the effects of apology timing, apology sincerity, and feeling understood on communication satisfaction and changes in negative emotions (e.g., anger and sadness) during conflict discussions. Sixty romantic couples engaged in conversations about recurring disagreements in their relationships. One partner from each couple apologized either earlier or later during the discussions. The findings showed that different variability existed between the timing of the apology and reports of communication satisfaction. Later apologies, rather than earlier apologies, given during conflict discussions that were completed in less than 10 minutes were associated with more communication satisfaction. Earlier apologies, rather than later apologies, given during conflict discussions that could have continued past 10 minutes were associated with more communication satisfaction. Additionally, reports of feeling understood and apology sincerity predicted communication satisfaction and apologies seen as more sincere were related to reports of less hard negative emotions such as anger, but were not related to reports of soft negative emotions, such as sadness. These findings have implications for the process of forgiveness and the mediation of disputes.

The effects of a prayer intervention on the process of forgiveness.

Throughout the psychological literature there has been a vast amount of research examining forgiveness as well as prayer within the context of the discipline of psychology; however these 2 constructs have rarely been examined together. This study examined the relationship between 2 important religious and spiritual constructs: forgiveness and prayer. Recent studies suggest Christians who forgive often use prayer. This intervention study looked to see more specifically what benefit there is to those who specifically use prayer as they seek to forgive an interpersonal offense. Participants consisted of 411 undergraduate students from private Christian colleges across the United States. They were randomly assigned to a prayer group, a devotional attention group or a control group, consisting of a sixteen day intervention. Those who were in the prayer and devotional attention groups were found to have significant changes in state forgiveness. In addition, those in the prayer intervention group showed significant changes in empathy toward their offender. Implications include the importance of exploring forgiveness as a spiritual construct, as well as help clinicians integrate their clients’ Prayer and Forgiveness iv journey towards forgiveness with their clients’ spiritual practices. In addition, these findings can help clinicians educate their clients on the relational benefits of spending daily time with God. Prayer and Forgiveness v Table of

Forgiveness in a political context

In this article I examine the challenging question concerning whether communal forgiveness is possible. In order to show that it is in principle possible I articulate and then respond to two of the most powerful objections to communal forgiveness that have been formulated to date, namely: (1) the argument that only victims can forgive; and (2) the argument that forgiveness is unconditional and thus outside the scope of such things as communal or political deliberation. I argue that communal forgiveness is a process of transformation that requires at the practical level an institutional framework in which a representative of a community can initiate the process of forgiveness, like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu did in South Africa. Because forgiveness is a process of transformation, it cannot be assessed at the level of acts or commitments alone, but is a wager on the future that will indeed show whether the communities involved have accepted the transformation.

Placing Dispositional Forgiveness Within Theories of Adult Personality Development

Compared to the longstanding literature on the process of forgiveness or state forgiveness, relatively less research has focused on how to develop a dispositional tendency to forgive others, known as forgivingness. This holds particularly true with respect to adulthood, which has been typically viewed as a period of personality consistency rather than change. In the current paper, we begin by discussing forgivingness and its potential for promoting adult well-being. Next, we describe three literatures that help us understand possible influences on forgivingness development in adulthood, which focus on (a) how adults respond to their changing societal roles, (b) the choices they make with respect to social and emotional regulation, and (c) their relationship attachment models. Finally, we conclude by presenting important questions for the future research on this personality trait.

The Marikana Violence in South Africa: A Brief Psychodynamic Extrapolation

This study applies psychoanalytic concepts in making sense of the individual, group and collective factors that may have contributed towards the Marikana violence. Speculatively, individual factors might include the death instinct, repetition compulsion, and intra-psychic splitting. Related group dynamics such as identification with the aggressor, group and projective identification might be relevant as would the collective psychological influences of history of oppression, severe trans-generational traumatisation, and mystical cultural interpretations in a divided society. Further public truth, reconciliation and forgiveness processes in addition to other integrative forms of healing are proposed.

Sometimes it's easier to forgive my transgressor than your transgressor: effects of subjective temporal distance on forgiveness for harm to self or close other

AbstractThe present research extended previous work on the third‐party (un)forgiveness effect—the tendency to be more forgiving for transgressions committed against the self than a close other—by testing how subjective temporal distance of first‐ and third‐party transgressions might influence the forgiveness process. Participants recalled a time in which they or a close other was harmed by another person, and was then made to feel either distant from or close to the transgression. As predicted, third‐party (un)forgiveness was observed when transgressions felt distant, but not when transgressions felt recent. Implications for restoring and maintaining positive relationships are discussed.

The role of right wing authoritarianism on the repentance–forgiveness process

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of right wing authoritarianism (RWA; Altemeyer, 1996) and social norms, or expectations of proper social conduct, in the repentance–forgiveness process. Two studies systematically revealed a negative relation between RWA and forgiveness, a positive effect of repentance on forgiveness, and a significant interaction between RWA and repentance on forgiveness. The interaction, in both studies, showed that there was a stronger positive relation between repentance and forgiveness for those who were high in RWA compared to those who were low in RWA. The results of Study 2 also showed that the interaction between RWA and repentance on forgiveness was explained by the victim's perception of the transgressor's response as proper. These results help to further establish the boundary conditions under which repentance influences forgiveness and the mechanisms underlying its effects.

Can Religion Promote Virtue?: A More Stringent Test of the Model of Relational Spirituality and Forgiveness

Rather than simply studying whether religious individuals are more forgiving than nonreligious individuals, recent research has focused on how religion may promote a more fluid and efficient forgiveness process. The present studies sought to strengthen evidence for a model of relational spirituality and forgiveness (Davis, Hook, & Worthington, 2008), given the reliance of prior studies on cross-sectional designs that did not control for hurtfulness of the offense. In Study 1, spiritual appraisals predicted unforgiveness, controlling for hurtfulness and other covariates. Furthermore, using structural equation modeling, empathy was found to partially mediate the relationship between spiritual appraisals and unforgiveness. In Study 2, participants (N = 123) completed a survey weekly for 6 weeks that included measures of relational spirituality and forgiveness. Appraisals of relational spirituality predicted subsequent unforgiveness, as well as the rate of decline in unforgiveness. Thus, using a more stringent test, we found additional evidence for the model.

Thai conceptualizations of forgiveness within a work context : comparison with Western models

Forgiveness research has focused almost exclusively on individualistic Western culture despite acknowledgement of the importance of cultural factors. Conflict at work is common yet studies of forgiveness in work contexts are rare, as are qualitative studies. Addressing these short-comings, this study examines the forgiveness process as experienced by Thai nurses in a hospital within a collectivist culture heavily influenced by Buddhism. Thirty nurses were interviewed about a situation at work where the need for forgiveness arose. Qualitative methods were used to identify participants' cognitions, emotions, and behaviors in relation to the offensive event. Definitions of forgiveness were also elicited. Four continuous stages of the forgiveness process emerged: an experiencing stage, re-attribution stage, forgiveness stage, and behavioral stage. There were similarities with Western individualistic models but also some important differences related to Buddhism and Thai culture. Five dimensions of forgiveness emerged from the Thai definitions: overcoming negative approaches towards the offender, abandonment of negative judgment, fostering of positive approaches and loving-kindness towards the offender, awareness of the benefits of forgiveness, and forgiveness as incorporated within Buddhist beliefs. The results highlight the need to consider cultural influences when examining concepts like forgiveness.

Leadership, Betrayal and Forgiveness

The phenomenon of damaged relationships in the workplace has captured the attention of organizational researchers for the last 20 years but research on relationship repair and forgiveness processes...