Roles of expressed gratitude and apologies in predicting reciprocal responsiveness

Abstract

Research has indicated the critical role of responsiveness in facilitating close relationships, but what communication leads to enhanced responsiveness has not been fully explored. We hypothesized that gratitude and apologies facilitate responsiveness within friendship relationships in Japan. In Experiment 1 (n = 669), receiving gratitude, apologies, or both gratitude and apologies increased recipients’ perceptions of the expresser’s responsiveness more than receiving a message without either gratitude or apologies. In Experiment 2 (n = 139), the participants who received gratitude as well as receiving both gratitude and apologies (but not just apologies) wrote more responsive messages back to the expresser than those who received a message without either gratitude or apologies. Gratitude and apologies played unique roles in promoting responsiveness within friendship relationships.