Over time, awareness of common humanity reduces empathy and heightens perpetrators expectations of forgiveness

Awareness of common humanity reduces empathy and heightens expectations of forgiveness for temporally distant wrongdoing

From Social Psychological and Personality Science

Forgiveness is a desirable outcome to conflict. It has been shown to foster both mental and physical health among victims as well as improvements in well-being and self-esteem among perpetrators. According to Archbishop Tutu, forgiveness is only possible if victims and perpetrators of wrongdoing recognize and build upon their shared humanness. This research investigates the relationship between common humanity and forgiveness expectations. The study finds that focusing on common humanity will increase expectations of forgiveness among perpetrators, particularly if the wrongdoing occurred at a subjectively distant point in time. It is argued that this effect is less likely to occur in the context of subjectively recent wrongdoing. It found that perpetrators expect forgiveness when categorized at the human, compared to social, level. The findings indicate that perpetrator groups may feel a passive disregard for victim suffering in addition to becoming directly adversarial when focused on common humanity. Awareness of common humanity might facilitate victims’ willingness to forgive but also leads perpetrators to gratuitously expect forgiveness—a potential recipe for a rocky road to reconciliation.

 

Abstract

The present research identified why and under what conditions perpetrator groups expect forgiveness from victims when focused on common humanity. In Experiment 1 (N = 41), thinking about victims as fellow humans increased expectations of forgiveness among perpetrator group members. Experiment 2 (N = 74) revealed the important role of subjective temporal distance in qualifying the effect of appealing to common humanity. Forgiveness expectations increased when a transgression was perceived as temporally distant rather than close. Experiment 3 (N = 70) found that expecting forgiveness was associated negatively with remorse for wrongdoing and revealed reduced empathy for victims as a mediator of the effect. Taken together, the findings reveal that factors shown to encourage forgiveness among victims can also create corresponding expectations among perpetrators. Unfortunately, this process is more likely to damage than repair intergroup relations.

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Article details
Greenaway, K., Louis, W., & Wohl, M. (2011). Awareness of Common Humanity Reduces Empathy and Heightens Expectations of Forgiveness for Temporally Distant Wrongdoing Social Psychological and Personality Science DOI: 10.1177/1948550611425861

Tags: common human identity, forgiveness expectations, subjective temporal distance