Ambivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgiveness
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Boon, Susan D.
Kheong, Megan
Khoury, Careen
Abstract / 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.
Keyword(s)
ambivalence attitudes forgiveness forgivingness vengefulnessPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2021-10-06
Journal title
Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
Publisher
PsychArchives
Publication status
acceptedVersion
Review status
reviewed
Is version of
Citation
Boon, S. D., Kheong, M., & Khoury, C. (in press). Ambivalence in attitudes toward forgiveness [Accepted manuscript]. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships. http://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5151
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Boon_Kheong_Khoury_2021_Ambivalence_in_Attitudes_IJPR_AAM.pdfAdobe PDF - 485.08KBMD5: d2284a13d3d67cc1c7e8387681cb7fe7Description: Accepted manuscript
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Boon, Susan D.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Kheong, Megan
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Khoury, Careen
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2021-10-06T15:37:11Z
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Made available on2021-10-06T15:37:11Z
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Date of first publication2021-10-06
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Abstract / DescriptionAre 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.en_US
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Publication statusacceptedVersion
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Review statusreviewed
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SponsorshipA Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada post-doctoral fellowship awarded to the third author facilitated her participation in this research.en_US
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CitationBoon, S. D., Kheong, M., & Khoury, C. (in press). Ambivalence in attitudes toward forgiveness [Accepted manuscript]. Interpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships. http://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5151en_US
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ISSN1981-6472
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/4569
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.5151
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Language of contentengen_US
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PublisherPsychArchivesen_US
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/ijpr.6729
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12407
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Is related tohttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.12407
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Keyword(s)ambivalenceen_US
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Keyword(s)attitudesen_US
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Keyword(s)forgivenessen_US
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Keyword(s)forgivingnessen_US
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Keyword(s)vengefulnessen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleAmbivalence in Attitudes Toward Forgivenessen_US
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DRO typearticleen_US
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Journal titleInterpersona: An International Journal on Personal Relationships
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Visible tag(s)PsychOpen GOLDen_US
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Visible tag(s)Accepted Manuscripten_US