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Effects of Timing and Sincerity of an Apology on Satisfaction and Changes in Negative Feelings During Conflicts
Abstract and Figures
Using attribution theory, this study examined the effects of apology timing, apology
sincerity, and feeling understood on communication satisfaction and changes in negative
emotions (e.g., anger and sadness) during conflict discussions. Sixty romantic couples
engaged in conversations about recurring disagreements in their relationships. One
partner from each couple apologized either earlier or later during the discussions. The
findings showed that different variability existed between the timing of the apology
and reports of communication satisfaction. Later apologies, rather than earlier apologies,
given during conflict discussions that were completed in less than 10 minutes were
associated with more communication satisfaction. Earlier apologies, rather than later
apologies, given during conflict discussions that could have continued past 10 minutes
were associated with more communication satisfaction. Additionally, reports of feeling
understood and apology sincerity predicted communication satisfaction and apologies
seen as more sincere were related to reports of less hard negative emotions such as anger,
but were not related to reports of soft negative emotions, such as sadness. These findings
have implications for the process of forgiveness and the mediation of disputes.
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... Receiving a sincere apology from offenders may also be related to victim recovery. Hubbard et al. (2013) examined how the variability of apologies, such as timing and sincerity, impacted victims in terms of communication satisfaction and changes in negative emotions including anger and sadness. Their results revealed that an apology that was perceived as sincere was associated with victims' satisfaction with communication as well as decreases in anger and irritation. ...
... According to Bennett and Earwaker (2001, p. 462), the rejection of apology was 'determined at least in part by the degree of the offender's responsibility for the event and, independently, by the seriousness of the event'. Furthermore, research by Hubbard et al. (2013) suggested that when conflict discussions continued for more than 10 minutes, earlier apologies were more likely to lead to communication satisfaction and subsequently to perceived sincerity than later apologies. When these findings are combined with the findings that offenders in RJ tend to feel nervous at the beginning of the RJ process and sometimes fail to show their emotions such as remorse (Choi et al., 2011), an apology, if offered at the later phase of RJ or as part of the agreement plan, may be less likely to be perceived as sincere when crime is serious. ...
While apology has only a secondary role in restorative justice (RJ), an apology is prevalent in the RJ process. This is promising, but problematic is that there seems to be a gap in the perceived sincerity of apology between victims and offenders. Since less is known about why this gap exists, this paper extends our knowledge about under what conditions a sincere apology is possible in RJ. More specifically, this paper seeks to identify the key components of a sincere apology that are pertinent to RJ as well as the promoting and inhibiting factors for a sincere apology in RJ. This paper provides future research implications about the relationship between RJ and sincere apology. 114 words
... Additionally, the original assignment of items expressing ways of apologizing might not have been stringent: While Item 29 belongs to the NS scale, Item 40 ("Saying 'I'm sorry' when one realizes one was wrong") to the positive-submissive scale. In both scenarios, admitting and apologizing for (small) mistakes leads more likely to positive emotions at the receiver, for example, feeling less negative emotions such as anger (e.g., Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013). Furthermore, this behavior, when meant sincerely, might even contribute to a deeper feeling of understanding each other (e.g., Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013;Maio et al., 2008). ...
... In both scenarios, admitting and apologizing for (small) mistakes leads more likely to positive emotions at the receiver, for example, feeling less negative emotions such as anger (e.g., Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013). Furthermore, this behavior, when meant sincerely, might even contribute to a deeper feeling of understanding each other (e.g., Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013;Maio et al., 2008). This change in feelings and closeness might affect the judgment of the given scenario in a less negative way and might explain why the item does not show a strong loading on the NS scale. ...
Background: This study aimed to develop a German version of the Family Expressiveness Questionnaire (FEQ; Halberstadt, 1983 , 1986 ), which investigates emotional expressiveness within the family context while growing up. While a theoretically derived four-factor structure was postulated, 2- and 3-scale versions have been applied in research. Methods: In Study 1 ( N = 650), these existing models were tested against each other. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted for the solution that best fitted the data with half of the sample, and results were cross-validated in the other half. Construct validation was investigated in Study 2 ( N = 225). Results: An acceptable model fit for a three-factor solution was attained in Study 1. In Study 2, correlation patterns indicated a good convergent and discriminant validity. Reliability estimates in both studies were in an acceptable to excellent range. Conclusion: Findings suggest that the FEQ German version is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing expressiveness within the family.
... However, one can also argue that revealing negative information late in a process might be perceived as being less than truthful (even if legally sanctioned) and might lead to negative ascriptions about candidate character (Hebl & Skorinko, 2005). Research on apologies has consistently showed that if apologies are perceived as untimely or artificially delayed, they are less effective in trust repair (Ebesu Hubbard et al, 2013;Jehle et al., 2012;Wirtz & Mattila, 2004). Flake (2019) also suggested that later timing might not make much of a difference, noting that Ban-the-Box laws do not directly prohibit discrimination against ex-offenders but perhaps just delay the point at which discrimination takes place. ...
Despite the large number of individuals with criminal records in the United States, research on their employment transitions and hiring challenges remains scarce. Further, given the over-representation of people of color in the US justice system, investigations incorporating the potential effects of race/ethnicity are crucial. In the present study, we examine the effects of different reparative impression management tactics for ex-offender applicants of various races/ethnicities in both a prehire and postoffer context and the mechanisms underlying those effects. Using an experimental design, we link specific reparative impression management tactics to employment outcomes through perceived remorse (Studies 1 and 2) and trustworthiness (Study 2), finding that Latino and Black candidates’ engagement in reparative impression management tactics had greater impact on perceptions of remorse, trustworthiness, and hiring evaluations than did the use of such tactics by White candidates. Disclosure timing did not have large impacts on evaluations. Our findings contribute to research on reparative impression management in hiring contexts more broadly, as well as informing ex-offender job seekers which tactics are most useful when disclosing a criminal record, how demographics may impact these impression management techniques, and potential optimal disclosure timing relevant to current legislative contexts.
... In previous research (e.g., Coombs and Holladay, 2012;Bentley, 2018), appropriateness was operationalized as the consumer's perceived acceptability of the apology. Second, the perceived sincerity of the apology is positively related to the appropriateness (e.g., Choi and Chung, 2013;Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013;Lwin et al., 2017). Third, the effectiveness refers to how well the apology is anticipated to reduce the reputational damage of the company (Choi and Chung, 2013) or increase the stakeholder's purchase intention (Lwin et al., 2017). ...
Introduction
As South Korean companies frequently use apologies for various crisis situations and pair them with other types of crisis response strategies (i.e., scapegoating), theory-driven recommendations for crisis response messages may fall short in practice. This study empirically examines the effectiveness of two crisis response messages (i.e., apology + compensation vs. apology + scapegoating) by integrating the theory of communicative responsibility and situational crisis communication theory.
Methods
South Korean participants ( n = 392) read one of two vignettes: the vignettes described an automobile company’s apology for malfunctioning seat belts which included either compensation or scapegoating. The participant’s perceived communicative responsibility, appropriateness of the apology, and reputation of the company were measured. Process analysis was conducted to examine the mediated-moderation effect of the crisis response messages.
Results and Discussion
The findings indicate that an apology that is provided with compensation is more appropriate than those with scapegoating. The appropriateness is moderated by the perceived symmetry in communicative responsibility, and fully mediates the relationship between apology type and reputation. This study integrates two theoretical models to examine the mechanism behind the crisis response strategies from the perspective of the message receivers, while considering the cultural and normative context of South Korea.
... Due to the exploratory nature of this study, and the limited prior research regarding apologies, we decided to code written apologies for several exploratory components that have not been thoroughly studied, but may be particularly relevant for apologies within a parent-child context. These components include: (1) physical affection (e.g., "Can I give you a hug?"); (2) timing (Ebesu Hubbard et al., 2013;Frantz & Bennigson, 2005; e.g., "I'll give you some space, and we can talk more when you're ready"); (3) term of endearment or love (e.g., "I love you, sweetie"); (4) expression of gratitude (You et al., 2020; e.g., "Thank you for putting your bike away"); (5) request for forgiveness (Lewicki et al., 2016; e.g., "Will you forgive me?"); (8) use of a specific emotion word (e.g., "I was feeling frustrated"); and (9) invalidating/minimizing comments (Molinsky, 2016; e.g., "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings"). We also collected information regarding the length of apology (in number of words). ...
Parenting is a stressful and difficult endeavor, and even the most skillful parents are apt to make mistakes that warrant an apology to their child. However, little is known regarding parents’ overall willingness to apologize to their child or the content of parental apologies when provided. Informed by research on apology outside the parenting context, the current exploratory study aimed to characterize maternal apology attitudes and behavior. A sample of mothers (N = 186) was recruited from the community, and they self-reported their proclivity to apologize to their child, as well as their proclivity to apologize generally. Mothers were also asked to model a skillful parental apology through an open-ended text response to a vignette, and these responses were coded for the presence of effective apology components. Mothers reported a high proclivity to apologize to their child, and this was associated with their willingness to apologize generally. However, the majority of mothers’ written apologies included few of the elements recommended for effective apologies. Similar to other literature on apology, this finding suggests that although mothers may be willing to apologize when needed, knowing and implementing an effective apology is challenging.
Purpose
The present study examines the nexus between workplace relationship conflict, perceived sincere apology, interpersonal forgiveness, trust restoration and future cooperation at work after a trust violation episode has occurred.
Design/methodology/approach
The data for the analysis were collected from 226 employees using scenarios and survey methods and quantitative techniques were applied to analyze the data.
Findings
The results show that perceived sincerity of apology serves as a mediating variable in the link between workplace relationship conflict and interpersonal forgiveness. Interpersonal forgiveness is found to be positively related to future cooperation at work with the mediating role of trust restoration.
Practical implications
The findings of the study have practical implications for strategy makers, human resource managers and practitioners interested in stimulating future cooperation at work after a trust violation episode has occurred. The study advocates that sincere apology and interpersonal forgiveness serve as an important link to recovering from trust violation damages and cultivating future cooperation at work after a relationship conflict has occurred.
Originality/value
The findings of the present study bring new insights on the role played by sincere apology and interpersonal forgiveness in facilitating trust restoration and future cooperation at work after a relationship conflict episode has occurred.
Nothing is perfect and robots can make as many mistakes as any human, which can lead to a decrease in trust in them. However, it is possible, for robots to repair a human’s trust in them after they have made mistakes through various trust repair strategies such as apologies, denials, and promises. Presently, the efficacy of these trust repairs in the human–robot interaction literature has been mixed. One reason for this might be that humans have different perceptions of a robot’s mind. For example, some repairs may be more effective when humans believe that robots are capable of experiencing emotion. Likewise, other repairs might be more effective when humans believe robots possess intentionality. A key element that determines these beliefs is mind perception. Therefore understanding how mind perception impacts trust repair may be vital to understanding trust repair in human–robot interaction. To investigate this, we conducted a study involving 400 participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk to determine whether mind perception influenced the effectiveness of three distinct repair strategies. The study employed an online platform where the robot and participant worked in a warehouse to pick and load 10 boxes. The robot made three mistakes over the course of the task and employed either a promise, denial, or apology after each mistake. Participants then rated their trust in the robot before and after it made the mistake. Results of this study indicated that overall, individual differences in mind perception are vital considerations when seeking to implement effective apologies and denials between humans and robots.
This investigation speaks to the intersection of interpersonal communication (IPC) research and social etiquette literature in constructing an apology over computer mediated communication (CMC). As individuals are engaging more in interpersonal interaction over CMC, apologies are being issued through this communication channel. Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory guided this work as this has the possibility to anticipate the way language might be interpreted in conversation to achieve the goal they desire (Goldsmith & Normand, 2015). This research found that throughout social etiquette literature, IPC literature, and politeness theory; the five common themes that emerged with suggested features of apologies were: (1) expressing remorse, (2) offering an explanation, (3) acknowledging responsibility, (4) asking for forgiveness, and (5) asking for permission to apologize. A content analysis was conducted on Tweets (n=226) that revealed implications on the frequency and usage of these features within apologies posted on the platform.
With recent technological advancements, many firms that formerly relied on traditional face-to-face conversations have switched to an online conversation mode. This has not only helped businesses to increase their revenues, but it has also enabled users and customers to access world-class services. Due to scalability concerns with these platforms, many of the online conversations have lost the personal touch associated with a face-to-face based communication. An embodied conversational agent (ECA) can address this void by creating suitable behavior as well as the required voice output via a realistic-looking avatar. However, in order to scale up to a large customer base, the behavior and appearance of agents must be adequately modeled. Traditionally, rule-based methods were used to generate the animations associated with the avatars, but because of their limitations modern approaches use deep learning models to create end-to-end systems. We present various conventional and current methodologies for behavior and appearance modeling in our work. We will discuss similarities between these systems as well as their limitations. We believe that our work will be useful in developing a hybrid system that uses both traditional and modern approach to handle these challenges in creating modern embodied conversational agents.
Researchers focus on non-verbal communication to better understand how relationships of various types are initiated, maintained, deepened, and sometimes terminated. Non-verbal communication is typically less filtered than verbal communication, thus non-verbal cues often reveal the “truth” of what is happening inside a relationship. However, we know less about non-verbal cues in relationships in trouble—ones that experience turmoil. Turmoil emerges in relationships going through turbulence, defined as periods of uncertainty and flux in partner interdependence during significant relationship transitions. Non-verbal communication central to romantic relationships experiencing turmoil and turbulence is the focus of this chapter, with specific attention paid to touch/affection, proxemics, eye behaviour, vocalics, and dyadic synchrony.
There are those who feel science is above politics, but nothing is above politics. Science is influenced by politics as much as is art, the media, religion, or any other aspect of human activity. It is not being aware of those influences that can undermine the value of the scientific enterprise. There has been much resistance to the concept of peaceful societies. In the first part of this chapter, Douglas Fry looks at that resistance and attempts to redress an imbalance and promote scientific debate. In the second part, Fry reviews conflict management in the peaceful societies discussed in this book, examining common themes in the creation and maintenance of peace. He finishes by exploring some lessons that peaceful societies might offer for developing and maintaining peace.
Awards: Sue DeWine Distinguished Book of the Year Communicating Forgiveness is the first book to take a truly communicative look at the process of forgiveness. Authors Vincent R. Waldron and Douglas L. Kelley provide a synthesis of the literature on forgiveness in relationships. Grounded in real-life forgiveness narratives, this interdisciplinary text (pulling from such related fields as psychology, counseling, family studies, peace studies, conflict management, religious studies, and organizational behavior) offers a hopeful framework for negotiating healthy and just responses to relational disappointments. Key Features Conceptualizes forgiveness as communication: Offering an alternative to predominant psychological approaches, this is the first book to focus on specific communication behaviors associated with forgiveness.; Provides an emotional connection: Real- life narratives from long-term couples, friends, family members, and coworkers make the text readable and relevant to today's relationships.; Includes a chapter on the practice of forgiveness: Practical advice and specific guidelines resonate well with readers as they apply to genuine friendships, romances, families, and workplaces.; Offers path-breaking theory development: The book organizes existing forgiveness research around a descriptive communication framework, demonstrating how existing psychological research can be enriched through the application of communication theories.; Presents a highly personal closing chapter: In the final chapter the authors provide a personal account of their experiences as researchers through “On the Drive Home” vignettes that convey key lessons learned. Intended Audience This is an excellent supplemental text for a variety of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Conflict Management, Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Communication in Personal Relationships, Psychology of Personal Relationships, Counseling, and Peace Studies in the departments of Communication, Psychology, Family Studies, and Counseling.
Our review summarizes and integrates existing research on interpersonal conflicts that are difficult to resolve. Research indicates that interpersonal conflicts can adversely impact families, individual health, team functioning, and intercultural relations. Hence, we need to better understand protracted disputes. We focus on two research programs directly related to interpersonal conflict (serial arguments and perpetual problems) and a third area of research that takes a macro approach to studying intractable conflict. We combine elements of the three approaches into an integrative framework that suggests nine questions worthy of future research.
While most scholars view interactional argument as a single conversational event, the phenomenon can also be seen as a serial episode that occurs and recurs in everyday life. This essay presents a model of serial argument with supporting data.
Since it is not clear in what contexts perceived understanding is important in the development of relationships, the present study addressed whether perceived understanding is as important initially in the development of a relationship as in later stages. Analysis indicated that perceived understanding is less important in this study where subjects were in an initial stage of development of a relationship than in an earlier study where subjects were in a later stage. Perhaps perceived understanding may index intensity since it appears to be more important later.
A series of studies investigating cultural differences in apology usage in unsolicited email advertising messages (i.e., SPAM) are reported. Study 1 documented that in comparison to American SPAM, a greater percentage of Korean SPAM included apologies. The next five studies (Ns= 516, 3132, 662, 524, 536) tested various explanations for cross-cultural differences in uses of, and responses to, apologies. Findings indicated that advertising messages containing apologies were not necessarily more effective than advertising messages without apologies. Koreans, however, considered advertising messages with apologies as more credible and normal and exhibited a greater tendency to model other people's apology use than did Americans. Thus, the frequent presence of apologies in Korean unsolicited email advertising is likely to be based on Koreans' modeling behavior (i.e., a greater tendency to follow social norms).
120 undergraduates were asked to imagine themselves as the central character in a scenario in which they inadvertently bumped into another person in a public place. The actor's responsibility for the incident and the amount of harm done to the "victim" were systematically manipulated. As hypothesized, apologies were used in a perfunctory manner (saying "Pardon me" and then going about one's business) when the consequences of the event were minor. As the consequences became more negative, Ss employed an increased number of apology components, such as saying they were sorry, expressing remorse, and offering to help the victim. When high responsibility and high consequences coexisted, Ss were most likely to employ self-castigation and explicitly request forgiveness. Results support the hypothesis that as the severity of a social predicament increases, so does both the use of nonperfunctory apologies and the number of components employed in apologies. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)