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What determines forgiveness in close relationships? The role of post‐transgression trust
Author(s) -
Strelan Peter,
Karremans Johan C.,
Krieg Josiah
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/bjso.12173
Subject(s) - forgiveness , psychology , marine transgression , social psychology , paleontology , structural basin , biology
Relationship closeness is one of the best predictors of forgiveness. But what is the process by which closeness encourages forgiveness? Across three studies, we employed a mix of experimental and correlational designs with prospective ( N = 108), scenario ( N = 71), and recall ( N = 184) paradigms to test a multiple mediation model. We found consistent evidence that the positive association between relationship closeness and forgiveness may be explained by levels of post‐transgression trust in the offender. Moreover, trust always played the main mediating role in the forgiveness process, even when taking into account several transgression‐specific variables associated with both trust and forgiveness (e.g., apology). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of trust as a key indicator of forgiveness in close relationships.