Forgiveness Flashcards
What are the steps in the process of forgiveness?
Feelings of shock, disbelief &/ or sense of unreality - initial reactions
Attitudes & feelings of a relationship being violated - reevaluate perceptions about relationship
Feelings of hurt, anger & hostility - valid & natural
A want to withdraw socially, feel isolation/ loneliness - protect self
Feelings of depression - ongoing emotional pain
What is forgiveness?
Process encompassing intrapersonal & interpersonal dynamics
Interpersonal is concerned with relationship between 2 people following an offence
Relational process where both people navigate feelings, thoughts & behaviours towards reconciliation if desired
What is the intrapersonal aspect of forgiveness?
Internal workings of this individual who has been wronged. Deals with self-reflection, emotional processing & cognitive restricting
Includes emotional processes sing, cognitive restructuring, self-compassion & letting go of grudges
What are the 4 phases of forgiveness in Enrights model?
Uncovering phase - confront & release anger & fully understand pain caused
Decision phase - making choice to forgive
Work phase - working at forgiveness by reframing & accepting hurt, empathy to offender
Outcome phase - gaining emotional relief
What is the Worthington pyramidal model?
Step 1 - asked to recall hurt in supportive environment
Step 2 - encourage individual to build empathy towards offender
Step 3 - remember times when they received forgiveness for their own offences
Step 4 - publicly commit to forgiveness
Maintain gains that have been achieved
What is Fehr’s road to forgiveness (2010)?
Tripartite typology of cognitions, affect & constraints, explored at both situational & dispositional levels
Explore forgiveness through the lens of cognition, affect & interpersonal constraints - qualitative conceptualisation of forgiveness
Intrapersonal dimensions of forgiveness as cognitive-emotional processes but doesn’t deeply quantity relationships
What are cognitions in the road to forgiveness?
Attributions of intent & responsibility - forgiveness when offence if perceived as unintentional/ less personal
Rumination - persistent focus on negative aspects of event - overcome
Apology reception - acceptance involves cognitive reframing to align offenders intention with less malicious interceptions
What is affect in the road to forgiveness?
Empathy - developing empathy towards offender Step offender - reduce anger
Mood states - positive moods signal offence is manageable & forgivable
What are constraints in the road to forgiveness?
Religious/ socio-moral standards - internalised beliefs about forgiveness being virtuous can motivate forgiveness
Embeddedness - engage in internal forgiveness processes to maintain connection to others
What does Fehr suggest intrapersonal forgiveness is made of?
Cognitive re-interpretation of the offence to reduce blame
Emotional regulation to shift to positive affect
Motivational shifts, influenced by internalised values of the relational importance of forgiveness
What does empirical testing of forgiveness frameworks show?
Emphasises practical implications for mental health & wellbeing
What does a meta-analytic & integrative approach show?
Consolidate empirical findings into a structured, evidence-based framework
Provide a robust, data-driven foundation for counselling & health interventions
What does proximal-distal framework show?
Categorised antecedents by their closeness to forgiveness, finding proximal factors (empathy) more predictive than distal (personality)
How does empathy affect forgiveness?
Central to intrapersonal forgiveness, involves cognitive & emotional factors.
Helps reframe transgressions through offenders perspective
What is the role of rumination in forgiveness?
Inhibits forgiveness by maintaining focus on negative aspects of offence
Overcoming rumination enables motivational & emotional shifts for forgiveness
What is the role of attributions in forgiveness?
Positive attributions facilitate forgiveness, negative hinder process responses, predisposing individuals to forgiveness
What is the role of personality traits in forgiveness?
High agreeableness & low neuroticism shape emotional & cognitive responses, predisposing individuals to forgiveness
How does religiosity affect forgiveness?
Motivates forgiveness as moral/ spiritual imperative. Greater influence on forgiveness attitudes than actual behaviour
What are the antecedents & consequences of interpersonal forgiveness (Riek & Mania, 2012)?
Placed greater emphasis on intrapersonal forgiveness through focus on cognitive & emotional predictors
Showed reconciliation as outcome, not a condition
Provide key foundation for therapeutic & intervention designs (e.g. identify key antecedents, highlighting moderators etc)
