Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness
Are attitudes toward forgiveness ambivalent? To answer this question and explore whether such ambivalence predicts individuals’ propensity to forgive and tendency to view forgiveness as desirable/virtuous, we asked undergraduates (N = 159) to complete measures of ambivalence toward forgiveness, atti...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://interpersona.psychopen.eu/index.php/interpersona/article/view/6729 |
| _version_ | 1828080159191728128 |
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| author | Susan D. Boon Megan Kheong Careen Khoury |
| author_facet | Susan D. Boon Megan Kheong Careen Khoury |
| author_sort | Susan D. Boon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Are attitudes toward forgiveness ambivalent? To answer this question and explore whether such ambivalence predicts individuals’ propensity to forgive and tendency to view forgiveness as desirable/virtuous, we asked undergraduates (N = 159) to complete measures of ambivalence toward forgiveness, attitudes toward forgiveness, and tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. Using a number of metrics, our findings suggest that attitudes toward forgiveness are moderately ambivalent. In addition, and as predicted, ambivalence toward forgiveness was associated with diminished inclination to be forgiving, enhanced pro-vengeance orientation, and less idealistic views of forgiveness. Further, highly ambivalent participants scored the same or lower than anti-forgiveness participants in tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. These findings suggest the existence of a disconnect between people’s actual attitudes toward forgiveness and popular discourses on forgiveness and underscore the need for investigations of and theorizing on forgiveness that more fully recognize its possible costs and limitations or, at the very least, laypeople’s views on these. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:14:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-74150570b8a84706983010b8d5c63f60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1981-6472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:14:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | PsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for Psychology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships |
| spelling | doaj.art-74150570b8a84706983010b8d5c63f602023-01-02T10:41:52ZengPsychOpen GOLD/ Leibniz Institute for PsychologyInterpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships1981-64722022-12-0116222124110.5964/ijpr.6729ijpr.6729Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward ForgivenessSusan D. Boon0Megan Kheong1Careen Khoury2Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, CanadaDepartment of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, CanadaAre attitudes toward forgiveness ambivalent? To answer this question and explore whether such ambivalence predicts individuals’ propensity to forgive and tendency to view forgiveness as desirable/virtuous, we asked undergraduates (N = 159) to complete measures of ambivalence toward forgiveness, attitudes toward forgiveness, and tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. Using a number of metrics, our findings suggest that attitudes toward forgiveness are moderately ambivalent. In addition, and as predicted, ambivalence toward forgiveness was associated with diminished inclination to be forgiving, enhanced pro-vengeance orientation, and less idealistic views of forgiveness. Further, highly ambivalent participants scored the same or lower than anti-forgiveness participants in tendencies to be forgiving/vengeful. These findings suggest the existence of a disconnect between people’s actual attitudes toward forgiveness and popular discourses on forgiveness and underscore the need for investigations of and theorizing on forgiveness that more fully recognize its possible costs and limitations or, at the very least, laypeople’s views on these.https://interpersona.psychopen.eu/index.php/interpersona/article/view/6729ambivalenceattitudesforgivenessforgivingnessvengefulness |
| spellingShingle | Susan D. Boon Megan Kheong Careen Khoury Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships ambivalence attitudes forgiveness forgivingness vengefulness |
| title | Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness |
| title_full | Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness |
| title_fullStr | Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness |
| title_short | Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness |
| title_sort | ambivalence in attitudes toward forgiveness |
| topic | ambivalence attitudes forgiveness forgivingness vengefulness |
| url | https://interpersona.psychopen.eu/index.php/interpersona/article/view/6729 |
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