van der Wal Reine C, Karremans Johan C, Cillessen Antonius H N
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2014 Jun;40(6):803-815. doi: 10.1177/0146167214525807. Epub 2014 Mar 7.
Previous research demonstrated that perceived relationship value is a strong predictor of forgiveness. Here we suggest that relationship value may not be sufficient. Given that executive control is an important facilitator of forgiveness, we predicted that relationship value and executive control should interact toward promoting forgiveness. Using different indicators of executive control, including adults and children samples, measured or experimentally varied relationship value, and both self-report and behavioral forgiveness measures, across four studies we found support for our main prediction: Relationship value was positively associated with forgiveness; however, this association was mostly pronounced among individuals high (vs. low) in executive control. In addition, executive control was positively associated with forgiveness, but particularly in relationships of high (vs. low) relationship value. These findings suggest that relationship value and executive control in combination are associated with higher interpersonal forgiveness. Implications for the extant literature on forgiveness, and interpersonal relationships more broadly, are discussed.
先前的研究表明，感知到的关系价值是宽恕的有力预测指标。在此我们认为，关系价值可能并不充分。鉴于执行控制是宽恕的重要促进因素，我们预测关系价值和执行控制在促进宽恕方面应相互作用。通过使用执行控制的不同指标，包括成人和儿童样本，测量或实验性地改变关系价值，并采用自我报告和行为宽恕测量方法，在四项研究中我们发现了对我们主要预测的支持：关系价值与宽恕呈正相关；然而，这种关联在执行控制能力高（相对于低）的个体中最为明显。此外，执行控制与宽恕呈正相关，但特别是在关系价值高（相对于低）的关系中。这些发现表明，关系价值和执行控制相结合与更高的人际宽恕相关。文中还讨论了这些发现对现有宽恕文献以及更广泛的人际关系文献的启示。
