Victim and Observer Asymmetries in Their Reactions to an Apology: How Responsibility Attribution and Emotional Empathy Lead to Forgiveness

Abstract

We examined whether victims and observers react asymmetrically to different types of apologies given by a transgressor. Namely, we considered the apology's effects on its perceivers' motivation to forgive the transgressor, and also whether factors of responsibility attribution and emotional empathy mediate such effects. For this purpose, we presented 136 undergraduates with vignettes depicting a hypothetical predicament, followed by an apology scenario. The scenarios were manipulated on the perspective the participants took (victim/observer) and the sincerity of the apology (spontaneous/coerced). The data indicated an interaction effect in how the victims and the observers reacted to the types of apology: the coerced apology facilitated forgiveness motivations among only the observers and not the victims. Furthermore, we found a victim/observer asymmetry in the mediation processes that lead to their forgiveness. The effect of apologies on the observer's forgiveness was mediated by both responsibility judgment and empathic reaction, whereas its effect on the victim's forgiveness was mediated by empathy alone. The results suggest that, during a social predicament, victims and observer make decisions on a different motivational basis.