Is Sorry Effective: The Influences of Apologies to Inter-group Forgiveness

Abstract

Abstract: Transgressions are the premise of forgiveness. As transgression not only occurs on interpersonal levels but also exists on intergroup levels, the research on intergroup forgiveness is of great importance. Among the factors attributing to inter-group forgiveness, apologies are mentioned frequently. However, recent studies show that there are different influences of apologies to inter-group forgiveness. Some studies reveal that apologies could promote inter-group forgiveness, while some other studies show no such effects. The reason for such discrepancy may lies in the lack of consideration of possible moderating factors such as group identification, the emotion with apologies, and interpersonal trust, between apologies and inter-group forgiveness. As psychological research between apologies and inter-group forgiveness is still very young, several questions remain, and the future studies could further explore the feelings of the transgressor groups toward apologies, the effects of different types of apologies, the influence of political factors, and the possible existence of other moderator variables.

Key words: inter-group forgiveness, apologies, moderator variables

摘要： 宽恕的前提是人与人之间的侵犯，然而侵犯并不总是发生于个体之间，群体之间也可能发生侵犯，因此宽恕也可能发生于群体之间。在众多影响群际宽恕的因素中，道歉常常被提及。但近期的研究却显示，道歉对于群际宽恕的作用并不一致：有研究显示，道歉能够促进群际宽恕的产生；但也有研究发现，道歉并不能提升群际宽恕的水平。这种差异可能源自于一些因素的调节作用，例如群体身份认同、道歉所蕴含的情绪、人际信任等。在此基础上，还有一些相关的问题值得后续研究深入探讨，包括从侵犯群体层面进行研究、细分道歉类型对于群际宽恕的影响、探寻其他调节因素的作用、关注政治因素对于群际宽恕的影响等。

关键词: 群际宽恕, 道歉, 调节因素

CLC Number:

B849

ZHANG Tian, FU Hong. Is Sorry Effective: The Influences of Apologies to Inter-group Forgiveness[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2019, 17(1): 119-125.

张田, 傅宏. “对不起”有用吗：道歉对群际宽恕的影响[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2019, 17(1): 119-125.

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