1st Global Conference
Session 7: Forgiveness and Emotional Experiences
Chair: Michael Strawser
Effects of Perceived Inequity in Marital Forgiveness
Francesca-Giorgia Paleari and Camillo Regalia
University of Bergamo and Catholic University of Milan, Italy
In the psychological domain, forgiveness has mainly been examined from the perspective of the victim rather than of the offender. As a result, little attention has been paid not only to the feeling of being forgiven but also to the perceived imbalance between receiving and giving forgiveness.
According to equity theory and research, people who perceive an inequity between their own and their partners contributions and outcomes have a lower level of well-being and are less satisfied with their interpersonal relationships (e.g., Buunk & Mutsaer, 1999; Grote & Clark, 2000; McCulloch, 1990; Wright & Aquilino, 1998). This is the case for both the overbenefited, who feel guilty because they are receiving more than they give, and the underbenefited, who are disappointed, angry, and hurt because they feel that they received less than they give.
Informed by this equity theory perspective, the present study investigated whether a perceived imbalance between granting and receiving forgiveness in marriage affects subsequent psychological well-being and marital satisfaction.
About 130 Italian married couples provided data through self-administered questionnaires.
Across spouses there was agreement that husbands tended to be underbenefited and wives overbenefited in regard to marital forgiveness. Consistent with previous research showing that the quality of exchanges is more important to the marital satisfaction and well-being of wives than husbands (e.g., Acitelli & Antonucci, 1994), for wives perceived inequity in marital forgiveness predicted an increase in depressive symptoms, and marital dissatisfaction and a decrease in subjective well-being over a 6 month period. Interestingly, the prediction was significant even when controlling for the total levels of forgiveness given and of forgiveness received as well as for the underbenefited vs overbenefited status..
Differentiating Anger and Resentment: Implications for Forgiveness and
Psychological Distress
Rhonda Stoertebecker
School of psychology, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt Campus, Brisbane, Australia
Forgiveness researchers have specifically stated that anger and resentment are different emotions, yet these assertions have been made in the absence of empirical evidence. This proposition was investigated by exploring differences in the patterns of emotions associated with anger and resentment and by exploring if and to what extent anger and resentment differentially explained psychological distress. Undergraduate psychology students (N = 154) were asked to recall and describe autobiographical memories for 5 emotions (fear, sadness, anger, resentment and happiness). They were then asked to rate the intensity of emotion experienced for 15 emotions, both at the time the experience occurred and now, in the present time. They also completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), the Tendency To Forgive Scale (TTF) and two questions about how frequently and intensely they felt resentment. It was hypothesized that the anger and resentment experiences would be associated with different patterns of emotions, that anger and resentment would be positively associated with Depression, Anxiety and Stress, and negatively associated with a Tendency To Forgive, and that anger and resentment would differentially explain psychological distress. Results indicated that at the time of the anger and resentment experiences, the resentment experiences were associated with higher levels of resentment, envy, jealousy and embarrassment and lower levels of anger, anxiety and fear than anger experiences. When participants thought about how they felt now, in the present time, about the anger and resentment experiences, resentment experiences were associated with higher resentment, envy, jealousy, surprise and contempt than anger experiences. Correlations were in the expected directions and psychological distress was differentially explained by anger and resentment. These results support assertions that anger and resentment are different emotions and that they have different relationships with psychological distress. The results have implications for broadening treatment protocols to include forgiveness in current anger management treatments.
Forgiveness as Empowerment
Margaret Smith
School of International Service,
American University, Washington, DC
This paper explores the link between forgiveness and personal empowerment. It hypothesizes that a person’s ability to forgive derives from his or her discovery, awareness, or assertion of a new sense of identity that is stronger than that person’s previous sense of self as victim.
The paper highlights two meanings of the word “victim.” The value-neutral meaning denotes injury. The normative meaning addresses the fact that some act has had lasting repercussions and the perpetrator in this way continues to exert power over the one who suffered harm. Acknowledgement, reparations, changes of political institutions or policies are significant in addressing the injury. But the victim’s dilemma of dealing with the ongoing existence of the perpetrator remains.
When those harmed reach out to create some transformative venture, they are taking power into their hands in a way that acknowledges the past but also makes it possible to move on because of an altered sense of the self as empowered.
The proposed paper examines case studies of victims who have overcome their sense of disempowerment by taking power into their own hands. Recent examples include Liz and Stephen Alderman who have set up mental health clinics in Cambodia and Uganda in the wake of their son’s death in the Twin Towers, and women who have undergone rape and trafficking finding ways to support other women, as highlighted, in the work of Medica in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The paper explores cases of victims undertaking projects where they help others who suffered in the same way as they did, and cases where victims join with their actual perpetrator in some new endeavor. Thirdly, it explores empowerment projects wholly unrelated to the victim’s injurious experience. It compares these three typologies to achieve greater understanding of the forgiveness-identity-empowerment nexus.
Broadly speaking the paper relates to psychological perspectives on forgiveness, particularly in relation to self-esteem and self worth.
