A Function of Forgiveness

Abstract

Over the past two decades, researchers have described many facets of forgiveness. Presently, we explore the mood regulatory properties of forgiveness. The mental and physical health benefits associated with forgiveness are well documented, and it has been suggested that these benefits may be due to the negative affect regulating properties of forgiveness. However, the relationship between forgiveness and negative affect has not been studied experimentally. We conducted three studies designed to explore the relationship between mood and forgiveness. Results showed that participants induced with a negative mood were more likely to forgive a hypothetical transgression than those in a neutral mood, a moderate level of negativity was associated with a greater likelihood of forgiveness, and participants who forgave a hypothetical transgression experienced less negative affect than participants who did not forgive. Implications of the present results and directions for future research are discussed.