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The impact of forgiveness on cardiovascular reactivity and recovery
Abstract
The current study investigated the relationship between trait forgiveness and cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) and recovery in 99 normotensive participants (mean age=33.8). Cardiovascular parameters were obtained at 2-minute intervals during a 10-minute baseline period and a 20-minute recovery period, and at 1-minute intervals during a 4-minute anger recall task and a 4-minute serial subtraction task without harassment. Participants filled out a self-report measure of forgiveness prior to the laboratory procedure. Although forgiveness was not related to CVR, higher levels of trait forgiveness were predictive of lower diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at baseline (p<.02) and faster DBP recovery (p<.003). Findings suggest that forgiveness may be related to overall reductions in blood pressure levels and may aid in cardiovascular recovery from stress. The results also provide preliminary evidence that forgiveness may impact cardiovascular health not through a myocardial or vascular pathway, but through another mechanism.
... There are a few limited instances of the use of a neutral speaking control in the evaluation of heart rate and blood pressure changes in a verbal anger recall task (Drummond & Quah, 2001;Lin et al., 2015). However, the majority of research in this area has been conducted without this crucial control (Bajaj et al., 2019;Burg et al., 2011;Burns et al., 2006;Carnevali et al., 2019;Friedberg et al., 2007;Gerin et al., 2006;Lawler et al., 2003;Lawler-Row et al., 2006Lobbestael et al., 2008;Neumann et al., 2004;Weisberg et al., 2016;Zawadzki et al., 2017). Skin conductance level has also been measured in anger recall tasks, but without comparison to neutral speech (Lawler et al., 2003;Lobbestael et al., 2008;Tsai et al., 2002). ...
... Although the literature is limited in this potential relationship between alpha-amylase and anger, alpha-amylase has been correlated to aggression in children (Rudolph et al., 2010) and the rejection of unfair offers in a neuroeconomic game (Takagishi et al., 2009). Exploratory investigations of the correlations between physiological parameters and measures of trait anger, forgiveness, and rumination were also conducted here because of their importance to cardiovascular outcomes (Friedberg et al., 2007;May et al., 2014;Whited et al., 2010). ...
Narrative recall, or describing an event from one’s past, is a common method to study anger in the laboratory. However, most research using this method has not included a neutral speaking control, and therefore the physiological response attributable to emotion versus the act of speech is unknown. We evaluated heart rate, blood pressure, skin conductance level, heart rate variability, and salivary alpha-amylase during silent baseline, neutral speaking, anger recall, and recovery periods, and correlated these measures with trait anger, forgiveness, and rumination ( n = 104). Only systolic blood pressure and skin conductance levels were elevated in the anger recall period above the values in the neutral speaking period, showing the need for this important control. Alpha-amylase was inversely correlated to forgiveness, particularly in females. A neutral speaking control is critical for anger recall protocols because the physiological responses are mostly due to speaking, not anger. Salivary alpha-amylase may be a promising autonomic marker in studies of forgiveness and anger.
... It is a situation in which the victim passes away revenge and hatred. Individual reduce the negative feeling because of lack of forgiveness which include anger and hostility, and at the mean time, takes simultaneous replacement of sentiment and sympathy (Friedberg, Suchday, Shelov, 2007). One of wonder definition of forgiveness is the victim who waives revenge putting aside anger against the wrongdoer (Wallace, Exline, Baumeister, 2008). ...
... The results related to recording the electromyography (EMG), the reflex of skin, the arterial and heart beat average in the first position, were much higher than the second position. Friedbeg et al. (2007) claim that forgiveness attributes is a good predictor for diastolic blood pressure and can have a crucial role in improving this kind of blood pressure (Friedberg, Suchday, Shelov, 2007). Besides, the heart-arterial problems from stress will be lower with increasing the forgiveness. ...
One of the new concept sin the health psychology, is absolution or forgiveness, which its basis and philosophy should be sought in the human society and religious beliefs and teachings. Nowadays, the behaviors based on the absolution or forgiveness has attracted the attention of many scholars in the fields of health and hygiene. And not only we can pay special attention to this structure in terms of social education and interpersonal relationships, but also, since the religious views have emphasized on it, we can consider it as a turning point in the interdisciplinary studies and examine its educational usefulness. We can define forgiveness as victim's condo nation from revenge and leaving aside the resentment against the offender. The studies show that, absolution or forgiveness is related to extraversion (having a friendly relationship, assertiveness), conscience oriented (conscientiousness), openness to experiences (visualization and rationalism) and also related to the forgiving others and one's own self. Furthermore, in those patients who get higher scores in absolution, lower levels of pain, anger and distress has been reported. In this article we discuss some of the recommendations for the forgiveness and absolution in religious texts and then explain the concept of forgiveness from the psychological point of view, and present empirical researches and scientific studies related to the social education and interpersonal relationships.
... In addition, some researchers have also reached an agreement that forgiveness is good for health (Rasmussen, Stackhouse, Boon, Comstock, & Ross, 2019;Svalina & Webb, 2012;Webb, Hirsch, Visser, & Brewer, 2013). A study conducted by Friedberg, Suchday, and Shelov (2007) revealed that a higher level of one's likelihood to give forgiveness is associated with lower diastolic blood pressure. Such a condition eventually supports a faster recovery of diastolic blood pressure. ...
... People with a strong tendency to forgive (or a weak tendency to take revenge when hurt by others) have a reduced risk for nicotine dependency disorders, depression, and some anxiety disorders (Toussaint, Worthington, & Williams, 2015). Forgiveness has also been positively associated with psychological well-being such as high positive emotions, low negative emotions, and high satisfaction with life and physical health (Worthington, Griffin, & Provencher, 2018 people forgive others, there is a decrease in cardiovascular reactivity such as blood pressure and heart rate (Friedberg et al., 2007). Forgiveness also affects social support, strong mentality, and physical health. ...
Conflicts are unavoidable in human life. Thus, for human beings, the attitude of forgiveness is of importance to be well-embedded and sustainably constructed. Resting upon the aforesaid premises, the present study conducted a library research to reveal how forgiveness is viewed from the perspectives of positive psychology and Islam. 102 scientific works reviewed, 58 works were finally selected to be scrutinized in depth. This study revealed that the discourses in the field of positive psychology imply that forgiveness attitude is of importance to be embedded in human beings and continuously constructed by virtue of its positive natural impacts on mental health, good relationships, physical health, and positive well-being. Furthermore, as informed by Islamic teachings, the attitude of forgiveness is also suggested to be well and continuously embedded. As the best Islamic role model for the end-time people, the Prophet Muhammad PBUH already exemplified that humans are indeed to always be forgiving and even to pray for others for the sake of good things that Allah SWT will bestow to. It is worth noting that both positive psychology and Islam encourage humans to be forgiving individuals.
... Cognitive control plays a central role in the negotiation of social contracts of all kinds, including deception and reconciliation (Karremans and van der Wal, 2013). The importance of successful forgiveness, for example, is underlined by associations with general health outcomes [and especially cardiovascular health (Friedberg et al., 2007)], stress perception (Worthington et al., 2007) and overall mortality (Toussaint et al., 2012). Forgiveness can be described as a fluent process which consists of two steps; first, the decision to forgive the provocateur, and second, the inhibition of revenge-seeking feelings (Fincham et al., 2006;Wilkowski et al., 2010). ...
... Second, regression analyses and the fNIRS data indicate that these differences in retaliation are possibly based on different motivations: while the behavior of the low impulsivity group could mainly be associated with sympathy, the behavior of highly impulsive subjects might have been determined by feelings of revenge. Keeping the fundamental importance of reconciliation for health (Friedberg et al., 2007), coping with stress (Worthington et al., 2007) and overall mortality (Toussaint et al., 2012) in mind, the data in this study provide relevant insights into mechanisms underlying reduced forgiveness behavior in highly-impulsive subjects, with possible clinical implications, for example, for patients with ADHD, addiction or personality disorders. ...
The ability to reconcile is a key factor for a cooperative and successful life. Among the many factors that have an impact on how people negotiate social contracts, poor cognitive control (which is inversely linked to impulsivity) may exert negative effects on forgiveness. To investigate the neurobiological basis of this proposition, subjects with high vs. low impulsivity scores completed an ultimatum game (UG) and a dictator game (DG). First, the participants played an UG where they had to accept or reject offers from fair or unfair opponents. Afterward, the roles changed, and a DG was played. Here, subjects had the opportunity to forgive or take revenge on unfair opponents by the allocation of a fair/unfair amount of money. During this task, activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was assessed via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Highly impulsive subjects were significantly more revenge-seeking than individuals with a low impulsivity. This behavioral difference was reflected in the activation pattern of the left DLPFC, where higher activation in trials with unfair opponents was found, but only in the highly impulsive group. This result is discussed as an indicator of more revenge-driven behavior in highly impulsive individuals, since activity in the left DLPFC is associated with retaliation.
... The granting of forgiveness has been a fruitful area receiving primary attention (for meta-analyses see Fehr, Gelfand, & Nag, 2010;Riek & Mania, 2011). Research has demonstrated that granting forgiveness is associated with better health and well-being (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Lawler et al., 2005), lower levels of stress (Friedberg, Adonis, Von Bergen, & Suchday, 2005;Harris et al., 2006), and increased relationship satisfaction, commitment, and trust between the victim and the transgressor (Gordon, Hughes, Tockik, Dixon, & Litzinger, 2009;McCullough et al., 1998). Questions remain about how the forgiveness process may impact perpetrators. ...
... For example, individuals higher in trait and state forgiveness were likely to have lower blood pressure compared to those low in forgiveness (Lawler et al., 2003). Friedberg et al. (2007) measured forgiveness and cardiovascular activity and found that higher levels of trait forgiveness were related to lower diastolic blood pressure. Worthington and Scherer (2004) suggested that forgiveness may be related to health due to the fact that forgiveness is associated with decreases in anger and stress, which in turn have a positive impact on health outcomes. ...
Self-forgiveness and forgiveness-seeking are important and understudied aspects of forgiveness. We examined the cardiac and emotional patterns of healthy young adults (40 women, 40 men) who recalled an unresolved offense they had caused another person. Participants engaged in four imagery conditions: ruminating about the offense, being humbly repentant and engaging in self-forgiveness, seeking forgiveness from the victim and receiving forgiveness, and seeking forgiveness from the victim and being begrudged. Being repentant and begrudged forgiveness by one’s victim was associated with the same level of guilt as when ruminating, but significantly more negative emotion, less control, and less empathy than when ruminating, self-forgiving, and receiving forgiveness from the victim. Compared to ruminating about one’s wrongdoing, self-forgiving alleviated guilt and negative emotion, increased perceived control, decreased heart rate, and increased parasympathetic activation. Imagery of receiving forgiveness from the victim resulted in these same patterns and was equivalent to self-forgiveness across variables.
... Although state forgiveness was associated with lower self-reported anger, no significant relations were observed between forgiveness and any physiological measure (HR, BP, and skin conductance). Friedberg, Suchday, and Shelov (2007) examined hemodynamic responses (i.e., stroke volume, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance) to an anger recall task and serial subtraction using impedance cardiography. Trait forgivingness was associated with faster DBP recovery from tasks, but no differences were observed between high versus low forgivingness and cardiovascular responses to the two tasks. ...
... Many studies described in the previous sections measured resting physiological states even though their aims were to examine changes in response to recollections of betrayal. Some of these studies showed evidence that increased forgiveness was associated with dampened resting states (e.g., Friedberg et al., 2007;Lawler et al., 2003;Lawler-Row et al., 2011, 2008, but others have not (e.g., Edmondson, 2005;Huang & Enright, 2000;Lawler et al., 2005;Whited et al., 2010). Semenec (2009) reported mixed findings in this regard, with forgiveness of self being associated with lower resting DBP but forgiveness of others being associated with higher resting SBP. ...
Health benefits associated with forgiveness have been hypothesized to be associated with reductions in the human stress response, including activity in the cortex, the autonomic and somatic nervous systems, and the neuroendocrine/immune systems. In this chapter, we describe the body of literature that has examined this hypothesis. Although various methods have been used to elicit physiological stress responses in these studies, forgiveness has been consistently found to be associated with dampened physiological responses to stress when compared to unforgiveness. Salubrious effects of forgiveness have been observed most consistently when study participants are exposed to recollections of actual betrayal events, but have also been detected when participants imagine fictional scenarios or are asked to make forgiveness judgments. There is no evidence that forgiveness is associated with the magnitude of physiological stress responses to stimuli not associated with interpersonal transgressions, and the association between forgiveness and resting levels of physiological parameters has not been consistently observed. The promising relations between forgiveness and attenuated physiological responses to interpersonal stress revealed in this relatively recent body of literature supports continued empirical work examining the process of forgiveness and health outcomes and the potential mediating role of the human stress response. Through such efforts, engagement in forgiveness may warrant consideration as a means for promoting wellness.
... 2008), sleep quality (Lawler et aI., 2005), and to better cholesterol profiles (Friedberg et al. ,2009). It has been reported that dispositional forgiveness of others is negatively related to various physiological indices, such as stressinduced blood pressure reactivity (Lawler et aI., 2003), blood pressure (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Lawler et aI., 2003), number of medications taken (Lawler et aI., 2005), and somatic complaints (Lawler et aI., 2005). ...
... With respect to the actor effects of dispositional forgiveness on mental and physical health, I found that individuals reporting higher levels of dispositional forgiveness, whether the target was the self, others, or situations, also tended to report higher levels of mental and physical health. I was able to replicate the past research that has found that dispositional forgiveness of others is a positive correlate of mental health (Breen et aI., 2010;Brown, 2003;Exline et al., 1999;Friedberg et al., 2009;Krause & Ellison, 2003;Lawler et al., 2005;Lawler-Row & Piferi, 2006;Lawler et aI.;Maltby et aI., 2001;Mauger et aI., 1992;Seybold et aI., 2001;Stemthal et al., 2010Toussaint & Friedman, 2008;Toussaint & Jorgensen, 2008;Toussaint et aI., 2001;Toussaint et al., 2008a;Toussaint et aI., 2008b;Tse & Cheng, 2006;Tse & Yip, 2009;Webb et al. 2008;Wilson et al. 2008;Witvliet et al., 2004) and physical health (Friedberg et al., 2007;Friedberg et ai. , 2009;Lawler et aI., 2005;Lawler et al., 2003;Toussaint et aI., 2001). ...
... In turn, these factors have been associated with better health outcomes in a number of patient populations (Temoshok & Wald, 2005). There have been a small number of studies on the direct effect of forgiveness on physiological stress (e.g., Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Witvliet, Ludwig, & Vander Laan, 2001), which may be related to longterm health outcomes. ...
... When participants imagined forgiving responses, they showed a higher level of perceived control and a lower level of physiological stress than when unforgiving responses were imagined. A second study examined the relationship between dispositional forgiveness and cardiovascular changes in response to transgressions in a community sample of adults (Friedberg et al., 2007). The authors measured participants' blood pressure, heart rate, and other indicators of cardiac stress over a baseline period, a period of recalling a specific transgression, and a recovery period. ...
... Diferentes estudios reportan que el perdón, tiene implicancias positivas en la salud mental y física (Cheadle & Toussaint, 2015;Griffin, Worthington, Lavelock, Wade, & Hoyt, 2015;Toussaint & Webb, 2005;Toussaint, Shields, & Slavich, 2016;Worthington, Witvliet, Pietrini, & Miller, 2007). En el plano fisiológico, el perdón permite una mejor regulación de la presión arterial, la reducción de las enfermedades cardiovasculares (Fincham, May, & Sanchez-Gonzalez, 2015;Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007), así como cambios en el estado fisiológico de reposo y el funcionamiento del sistema endocrino e inmunológico (Larkin, Goulet, & Cavanagh, 2015). ...
The present study analyzed the reliability and validity based on the internal structure of the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale (FLS). The FLS was administered to 499 university students from the city of Trujillo (228 men and 271 women) with an average age of 20.71 years (SD = 2.61). The confirmatory factor analysis provided adequate support for the one-dimensional model of 8 items with the presence of correlated errors (?2 = 35,133, df = 18, ?2/df = 1,952, CFI = .988, RMSEA = .044 [IC 90% .021, .065]; and SRMR = .0266; AIC = 71.133), in addition to showing a good internal consistency based on the corrected omega value (?corrected) of 0.83. The results suggest that the Peruvian version of the FLS presents adequate psychometric evidence to measure the probability of forgiveness in university students. Thus, it seeks to contribute to the advancement of the scientific study of forgiveness in Latin America.
... Self-forgiveness interventions may benefit cardiovascular health, in addition to psychological well-being. Research links self-forgiveness and forgiveness of others to improved physiological outcomes, such as reactivity, recovery, and myocardial perfusion, suggesting cardiovascular benefits (Friedberg et al., 2007;Lawler-Row et al., 2008;Whited et al., 2010). Experimental evidence is limited, but Waltman et al. (2009) found that forgiveness therapies reduced myocardial perfusion defects from anger-recall stress, improving heart rate variability (HRV) and cardiovascular health. ...
Guided by the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual approach, this randomized controlled trial assessed the efficacy of a self-forgiveness intervention among 60 HIV-positive individuals in Poland. Participants underwent a 90-min "Restore: The Journey Toward Self-Forgiveness" session, in contrast to a wait-list control group. The intervention significantly enhanced self-forgiveness, spirituality, mental well-being, and heart rate variability in response to a cognitive stressor (i.e., a mental arithmetic challenge). Significant effects were observed in both between-group and within-subject comparisons. These results support the incorporation of self-forgiveness into psychological rehabilitation programs for HIV to improve quality of life and health outcomes.
... Por otro lado, el perdón se ha correlacionado de forma negativa con la depresión, la cólera, la venganza, el resentimiento, la calidad de vida y las enfermedades cardiovasculares (Brown, 2003;Friedberg et al., 2007;McCullough, 2008;Stoia-Carballo et al., 2008). De ahí que el perdón tenga importantes implicancias clínicas (Worthington & Wade, 1999) y terapéuticas (Aalgaard et al., 2016), de las que se han derivado varias intervenciones psicoterapéuticas con resultados favorables para las personas que tienen una mayor capacidad de perdonar o que han conseguido perdonar a las personas que les han hecho daño (Coyle & Enright, 1997;Hebl & Enright, 1993;Seligman et al., 2005;Worthington, 2006). ...
El perdón es un constructo que está siendo investigado con mucho interés de parte de los psicólogos, pero ello requiere de contar con instrumentos debidamente validados. La Escala de Evaluación de la Capacidad para Perdonar (CAPER) de María Casullo es una de las primeras pruebas que se ha creado en Latinoamérica para medir el perdón. El presente estudio tiene por objetivo el análisis de las propiedades psicométricas del CAPER en una muestra de 163 personas de la ciudad de Arequipa, que fueron seleccionadas mediante métodos no probabilísticos. Los resultados indican que la estructura interna de la prueba posee tres factores (Perdón a situaciones, Perdón a otros y Perdón a sí mismo) calculados mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio, mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio; pero los índices de consistencia interna de cada una de las tres dimensiones indican una baja confiabilidad, con coeficientes menores de .7, mediante la prueba Alfa de Cronbach y la prueba Omega de McDonald. Por tanto, se recomienda un uso cauteloso de este instrumento, y profundizar más en sus propiedades psicométricas.
... This may, in turn, increase cooperation and reconciliation. Despite the important utilitarian benefit of unforgiveness, it has also been associated with various indices of poor health (Friedberg et al., 2007;Lawler et al., 2005;Toussaint et al., 2015). ...
The primary aim of this research was to test the relation between wisdom and transgression victims' prosocial (forgiving), neutral (inhibiting), and antisocial (unforgiving) post-transgression responses (PTRs) in applied contexts. In addition, this research tested the role of two boundary conditions, transgressors' intent (Study 1 and 2) and transgression frequency (Study 2), in victims' tailoring their PTRs to targeted situations. We predicted that the relation between wisdom and victims' PTRs would vary as a function of these two contextual factors. Specifically, we predicted that wiser victims would respond more prosocially and less antisocially, but they would also tailor their responses to the context to facilitate adaptive responses. Two experiments that varied in design, setting (laboratory vs. online), and nature of transgression (personal vs. extrapersonal) largely supported the hypotheses and systematically replicated the findings. The overall pattern of responses provides empirical evidence for the theorized, but rarely tested, association between wisdom and prosocial responses. Wiser individuals also appeared particularly forgiving toward trivial offenses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... However, additional research has cast some doubt on this phenomenon, suggesting that men and women do not differ in terms of their inclinations to forgive (Enright & Zell, 1989;Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Toussaint & Webb, 2005). ...
Within sports, membership in a fan base often constitutes an attachment to a team and its various personnel. As part of a presumed ingroup, sports fans will go about evaluating their favorite teams and players based on several factors, such as team or athlete performance and off‑the‑field behaviors by such athletes. Although a vast set of literature within sport management has reported that fans exhibit partiality towards their favorite teams, research in social psychology and group dynamics has presented evidence to dispute this occurrence. This body of work has contended that people in a group will operate using subjective group dynamics (SGD), wherein norms and values are actively considered in group appraisal. Complementary research has offered the manifestation of a black sheep effect (BSE), or ingroup extremity, particularly when members deviate from norms or standards of the group. In a similar vein, this dissertation challenges the prevalent notion of fans’ enduring support for their favorite teams and examines numerous correlates of such behavior. Through five main studies, this dissertation investigates the impact of athlete behavior, group membership, player status, rivalry, and regret on evaluative judgments, identity threat, purchase decisions, product choices, and social media behaviors. Study 1 gauged the role of ingroup extremity when a team’s expectations, or norms of performance by an athlete, are violated, providing evidence to support ingroup derogation among fans. Expanding upon these results, Study 2 offered an assessment of the BSE in determining how fans go about supporting and derogating an ingroup or outgroup athlete based on performance, while furthering the application of these concepts to purchase decisions and social media intentions. Our second experiment offers partial support of the BSE, wherein fans exhibit a proclivity to derogate deviant ingroup and outgroup athletes to the same extent. Using a multi‑method approach integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods, our third experiment tested how rivalry and membership (i.e., player) saliency operate to amplify specific aspects of fan behavior, social media intentions, and product choices. Study 3 reveals ingroup and performance biases among fans as well as the function of team identification as a guide for team-licensed merchandise selections. Study 4 examined how evaluations of deviant performance- and moral‑related behavior by athletes can be affected by various moral reasoning strategies utilized by fans. Our fourth experiment demonstrates similar biases as established in Study 3 and also illustrates the amplified use of moral rationalization over other moral reasoning strategies. Using the findings from our first four studies as a foundation, we introduce a novel concept to the field (i.e., black sheep regret [BSR]) and complete this dissertation with a field study (Study 5A) and an experimental investigation (Study 5B). Although Study 5A did not support BSR in a naturalistic context (i.e., on social media), Study 5B provides data to verify its occurrence in fans. Ultimately, Study 5B produces rationale for the inconclusive results within social media settings, explained by a potential effect of black sheep perpetuance (BSP). Taken together, this dissertation discusses its theoretical contributions and offers pragmatic implications and future directions for sport managers and practitioners within the sport industry. Ultimately, the current composition highlights the importance of multidisciplinary approaches in exploring various components of specific group behavior in fans, as well as in the larger milieu of human behavior itself.
... Forgiveness can not only relieve anger, anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions, but also promote the generation of positive emotions and improve life satisfaction (Friedberg et al., 2007). It is not only closely related to the mental health of an individual, but also to the physical health of an individual. ...
Forgiveness, as an important content in the field of morality, means that the offended person overcomes the negative emotion, cognition, and behavior toward the offender and replaces it with positive emotion, cognition, and behavior. Based on the theory of the limitation of psychological resources, ego depletion (ED) will lead to the weakening of self-regulation function, thus making some immoral behaviors, which is not conducive to individual forgiveness. In order to explore the influence of ED on individual forgiveness in different interpersonal offense situations, this study used the Stroop task to manipulate the level of ED and used imaginary situations to distinguish offending situations. We found that the level of forgiveness in a serious offense situation was significantly lower than that in a mild offense situation, p < 0.001, partial η² = 0.158. In different interpersonal offense situations, ED has different effects on forgiveness. In the severe offense situation, the forgiveness level of high-ED individuals was significantly lower than that of the low-ED individuals, p = 0.023, partial η² = 0.144; in the mild offense situation, the forgiveness level of high-ED individuals was significantly higher than that of low-ED individuals, p = 0.029, partial η² = 0.140. The results showed that different levels of ED have no consistent effect on forgiveness in different interpersonal offense situations; high ED hinders individual forgiveness in serious offense situations but can promote individual forgiveness in mild offense situations.
... Considering that people have a desire to form positive relationships with others, some individuals' focus could be on coping or social reconnection rather than revenge (McCullough et al., 1997). In fact, individuals who forgive well show better well-being, physical health, and social relationships (Allemand et al., 2007;Friedberg et al., 2007;Worthington et al., 2007). Furthermore, previous work found that individuals in a lower social class with fewer resources behaved more prosocially than their upper-class counterparts due to their higher fairness concerns and feeling of compassion (Piff et al., 2010). ...
Previous literature proposed that the fair distribution of resources between self and other is the basic societal norm in prosocial sharing decisions. This study explored how socially rejected individuals make prosocial sharing decisions in different inequality contexts using economic games and computational modeling. Seventy-four adults were exposed to either a social rejection or a neutral manipulation, and then completed computerized monetary incentive sharing decision-making tasks. Estimated prosocial decision parameters revealed that individuals without social rejection demonstrated typical asymmetrical patterns of sharing - preferring to share in advantageous equality rather than in disadvantageous inequality. Contrarily, individuals who experienced social rejection demonstrated symmetrical patterns with no difference in sharing between advantageous and disadvantageous inequality contexts. Socially rejected individuals were more likely to share when the perception of the rejection was harsher, and sharing experience did not elicit negative affect but reduced stress. The findings suggest that the experience of social rejection affects the pattern of sharing decision-making in inequality contexts. These outcomes may reflect psychosocial coping strategies for mitigating the negative impact of social rejection.
... Repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni test showed that group education through an audio podcast reduced heart rate in the posttest compared to the pretest; however, this effect was only significant after a month of follow-up. This finding is consistent with that of similar studies (Friedberg et al., 2007;Toussaint et al., 2012;Derakhshan et al., 2016;Keyvanipour et al., 2019;Shore, 2004). However, in the present study, the effect of this intervention on the improvement of blood pressure and respiration rate was not confirmed in either the posttest or follow-up. ...
Background: Many treatments make the life of coronary heart patients longer, but they require more psychosocial and spiritual support for a meaningful life. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a bioenergy economy (BBE)-based psycho-education package on improvement of vegetative function, forgiveness, and quality of life (QOL) of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).
Methods: In this clinical trial, using convenient sampling, 40 patients were selected from among patients referring to Bohlool Hospital in Gonabad, Iran, and were randomly assigned to the 2 case and control groups. First, the vegetative function checklist, Forgiveness Likelihood Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF questionnaire were completed for all the participants. Then, the case group received 8 sessions of group training for 180 minutes. After the training and the 1-month follow-up, both groups completed the questionnaires again. Finally, all data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS software.
Results: The results showed a significant difference in heart rate, forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions between the case group and control group after training (P < 0.05). The post hoc test showed that heart rate decreased significantly in the posttest compared to the pretest and forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions increased significantly (P < 0.05). However, heart rate increased significantly in the follow-up compared to the posttest and forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions decreased significantly (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: It can be concluded that group education based on BEE as a complementary care system was effective on heart rate, forgiveness, and QOL and its physical and psychological dimensions.
... The ability to forgive others for their misdemeanors is highly relevant to cooperation and reciprocity (Trivers, 1971). In addition, individuals with better forgiveness ability show higher rates of well-being (Worthington et al., 2007), better cardiovascular health (Friedberg et al., 2007), better relationship quality (Allemand et al., 2007), and lower mortality (Toussaint et al., 2012). This suggests that forgiveness is positively associated with many areas of life. ...
Background: Cognitive control is thought to be necessary for forgiveness processes.
Materials and Methods: To examine this correlation, highly impulsive participants, who often fail to inhibit feelings of revenge, received activating theta burst stimulation (TBS) of a classical cognitive control region of the brain, the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC). For testing forgiveness ability participants received verum TBS versus sham TBS in a randomized, double-blinded, within-subjects design. In both sessions, they first learned that there are fair and unfair opponents in an ultimatum game, and subsequently played a dictator game with reversed roles with the option to revenge or forgive the opponents from the previous game.
Results: Contrary to our hypothesis, activating TBS did not increase forgiving behavior toward unfair opponents. However, it increased the generosity toward previously fair opponents.
Conclusion: As an explanation it is discussed that the TBS can only affect “cold” emotions such as greed, but not the “hot” emotions such as anger.
... Forgiveness is beneficial to psychological and physical health in numerous ways. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The overall physical health benefits of forgiveness appear to correlate with a significantly smaller increase in cardiovascular reactivity when compared to angry rumination. [11,13,16,[19][20][21] Indicators of cardiovascular function not only show strain on the cardiovascular system; they also reflect the stress response controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). ...
Background and Aim: Self-recrimination is a stress-inducing cognitive process, so there is a strong need for evidence-based effective self-forgiveness interventions. Most individuals, and particularly those in professions with high occupational stress, can suffer damaging bouts of self-recrimination, leading to depression, burnout and/or suicide. Unfortunately, useful frameworks for developing self-forgiveness skills appear limited. Methods: We designed a guided imagery session, based on the internal family systems therapeutic model, to facilitate the process of self-forgiveness. We used surveys and ECG recordings to 1) determine the effectiveness of the self-forgiveness imagery, 2) collect baseline psychometric data on forgiveness, particularly self-forgiveness, 3) collect ECG data during baseline, self-critical rumination and self-forgiveness periods and 4) correlate the psychometric and physiological data. Results: Together, our outcomes indicate the intervention is highly effective and that the self-forgiveness state produces high parasympathetic tone. Conclusion: A single, relatively short guided imagery session can facilitate significant self-forgiveness which is associated with reduced physiological stress.
... Further, the link between forgiveness and health has been found to be stronger among middle aged and older adults compared to younger adults [46]. Multiple studies have found that more forgiveness benefits multiple indicators of physical health [48] including self-rated health [46,[49][50][51], lower blood pressure [50,52] and heart rate [53]. Forgiveness may have positive health effects due to its ability to reduce both anger and stress [54] as well as its link with positive relationship quality [55]. ...
Forgiveness may serve as an essential positive resource to help individuals cope emotionally with stressful events, ultimately influencing health. Examination of how individuals forgive within the context of close relationships can provide useful information about positive aging. In this study, we examine how the severity of a recent transgression committed by a spouse/partner or other close social relationship is associated with self-reported physical health among older adults. We also examine how state forgiveness (i.e., in context of a specific event) can offset the potentially negative impact of transgressions on health and further compare the impact when the transgressor is a spouse/partner versus another close social relationship. Data are from the Detroit Community Survey, a cross-sectional survey of social relations, forgiveness, humility, and health in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Respondents age 50 and older were selected for analysis (N=380). Structural equation models indicated that greater transgression severity was associated with worse self-rated health. Further, state forgiveness was found to play a significant moderating role. Among older adults who were more likely to forgive their transgressor, experiencing a more severe transgression was associated with worse health. In contrast, among older adults less likely to forgive, there was no association between transgression severity and self-rated health. Additionally, among older adults less likely to forgive, the transgressor being a close other social relationship was associated with worse health compared to when it was a spouse/partner. In contrast, when more likely to forgive there was no association between who the transgressor was and self-rated health. This study contributes to a better understanding of how interpersonal stress, specifically a recent transgression experienced within the context of close social relationships, can be harmful to older adults' health. Findings highlight the importance of forgiveness as a resource that can help facilitate positive aging.
... In the therapeutic process, it could be helpful to know to what extent the personality characteristics of the client is important when trying to solve problems related to interpersonal relationships. Considering its important effects in the area of health (Lawler, Younger, Piferi, Billington, Jobe Edmondson,& Jones 2005;Friedberg, Suchday & Shelov, 2007;Friedberg, Adonis, Von Bergen & Suchday, 2005;Harris, Luskin, Norman, Standard, Bruning, Evans & Thoresen, 2006), forgiveness have also benefits in clinical practices. Forgiveness increases the degree of wellbeing and life satisfaction (Ysseldy., 2007). ...
The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between neuroticism and willingness to forgive and to explore the mediating role of justice sensitivity in this relationship Demographic form, Willingness to Forgive Scale, Justice Sensitivity Scale-Victim Form and Big Five Personality Inventory-Short Form were completed by 466 undergraduate students. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses revealed that justice sensitivity fully mediated the relationship between neuroticism and willingness to forgive. The results were discussed along with the literature findings, the strengths, and limitations of the study, suggestions for future researches and practical implications.
... Importantly, forgiveness is also related to greater life satisfaction (Kaleta & Mr oz, 2018). In addition, forgiveness is positively correlated with better physical health, health behaviours, and with physiological properties indicative of better health, including fewer health symptoms, improved cardiovascular responses to stress, decreased diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, and lower mortality rates (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Krause & Hayward, 2013;Lawler et al., 2003;Lawler et al., 2005;Seawell, Toussaint, & Cheadle, 2014;Toussaint & Cheadle, 2009;Toussaint, Owen, & Cheadle, 2012;Waltman et al., 2009;Webb, Hirsch, Visser, & Brewer, 2013). These associations are likely mediated by psychosocial factors. ...
Objective: The present study examined forgiveness of others, self-forgiveness, sleep, and health in a nationally representative sample of United States adults. It was hypothesised that sleep would mediate the associations of forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness with health.
Design: A nationally representative survey of 1,423 United States adults.
Main Outcome Measures: Measures included forgiveness of others, self-forgiveness, sleep quantity, sleep quality, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and self-rated physical health.
Results: Forgiveness of others (β = .20, p < .001) and self-forgiveness (β = .11, p < .01) were associated with sleep and forgiveness of others (β = .24, p < .001) and self-forgiveness (β = .27, p < .001) were associated with health. Sleep was associated with health (β = .45, p < .001) and also acted as a mediator of the associations of forgiveness of others (β = .09, p < .01) and self-forgiveness (β = .05, p < .01) with health.
Conclusions: Forgiveness of others and self-forgiveness may attenuate emotions such as anger, regret, and rumination and provide a buffer between one’s own and others’ offenses occurring during the day and offer a restful mental state that supports sound sleep which, in turn, is associated with better health.
... Diferentes estudios reportan que el perdón, tiene implicancias positivas en la salud mental y física (Cheadle & Toussaint, 2015;Griffin, Worthington, Lavelock, Wade, & Hoyt, 2015;Toussaint & Webb, 2005;Toussaint, Shields, & Slavich, 2016;Worthington, Witvliet, Pietrini, & Miller, 2007). En el plano fisiológico, el perdón permite una mejor regulación de la presión arterial, la reducción de las enfermedades cardiovasculares (Fincham, May, & Sanchez-Gonzalez, 2015;Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007), así como cambios en el estado fisiológico de reposo y el funcionamiento del sistema endocrino e inmunológico (Larkin, Goulet, & Cavanagh, 2015). ...
The present study analyzed the reliability and validity based on the internal structure of the Forgiveness Likelihood Scale (FLS). The FLS was administered to 499 university students from the city of Trujillo (228 men and 271 women) with an average age of 20.71 years (SD = 2.61). The confirmatory factor analysis provided adequate support for the one-dimensional model of 8 items with the presence of correlated errors (χ ² = 35,133, df = 18, χ ² /df = 1,952, CFI =.988, RMSEA =.044 [IC 90%.021,.065]; and SRMR =.0266; AIC = 71.133), in addition to showing a good internal consistency based on the corrected omega value (ωcorrected) of 0.83. The results suggest that the Peruvian version of the FLS presents adequate psychometric evidence to measure the probability of forgiveness in university students. Thus, it seeks to contribute to the advancement of the scientific study of forgiveness in Latin America. © 2018 Universidad Nacional de Cordoba - Facultad de Psicologia. All Rights Reserved.
... The implications of forgiveness also appear in physical health as indicated by fewer physical symptoms. Fewer physical symptoms are presented as a result of changes in overall reductions in blood pressure level, heart rate, and may aid in cardiovascular recovery from stress associated with higher rates of forgiveness 44,51 . ...
College students as emerging adulthood may experience both mental and physical health problems due to maladaptive adjustments. Both mental and physical health problems are mutually reinforcing that cause marked impairment in everyday life functioning. Efforts to deal with mental health problem are expected to promote general health. Either forgiveness or meditation is separately proven effective in improving mental and physical health, but the efficacy of forgiveness meditation has not been adequately researched. This study aims to examine the effect of forgiveness meditation toward mental health improvement among college students, as indicated by the declined of distress. This study used one-group pretest-and-posttest quasi-experimental design with follow-up measurements two weeks after treatment ended. Measurements were conducted using the short version of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Samples were obtained using purposive sampling techniques, as many as 9 college students from The Faculty of Public Health, Diponegoro University, Semarang, Indonesia. The analysis using statistical test of Wilcoxon T-test between pre-test and post-test, and pre-test and follow-up, showed significant decrease (respectively were Z=-2.670, p=.008; Z=-2.675, p=.007), while between post-test and follow-up did not (Z=-.256, p=.798). The result showed a significant decrease in distress after treatment ended. This result remained significant up to follow-up measurements, though the difference between post-test and follow-up was not significant. Forgiveness meditation may have sustainable and increasing effect if it is regularly practiced. A sustained decrease in distress, which indicates the improvement of mental health, is further expected to support the improvement of physical health, adaptive adjustment, and optimal functioning. © 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. All rights reserved.
... Based on this study design, clinical implications may be deduced for different situations involving the ability to forgive. This is a very important point of future research given the large influence of forgiveness on wellbeing (Worthington et al., 2007), cardiovascular health (Friedberg et al., 2007) as well as overall mortality (Toussaint et al., 2012). In conclusion, given the picture-perfect fit of the present results with the model of Botvinick et al. (2001) (confirming previous correlational findings as well as theoretical considerations (e.g.; Pronk et al., 2010;Wilkowski et al., 2010)), it can be assumed that forgiveness is an essential function of cognitive control. ...
... Diferentes estudios reportan que el perdón, tiene implicancias positivas en la salud mental y física (Cheadle & Toussaint, 2015;Griffin, Worthington, Lavelock, Wade, & Hoyt, 2015;Toussaint & Webb, 2005;Toussaint, Shields, & Slavich, 2016;Worthington, Witvliet, Pietrini, & Miller, 2007). En el plano fisiológico, el perdón permite una mejor regulación de la presión arterial, la reducción de las enfermedades cardiovasculares (Fincham, May, & Sanchez-Gonzalez, 2015;Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007), así como cambios en el estado fisiológico de reposo y el funcionamiento del sistema endocrino e inmunológico (Larkin, Goulet, & Cavanagh, 2015). ...
El estudio analizó la confiabilidad y la evidencia de validez basada en la estructura interna de la Escala de Probabilidad de Perdón (FLS). La FLS se administró a 499 estudiantes universitarios de la ciudad de Trujillo (228 hombres y 271 mujeres) con una edad promedio de 20.71 años (DE = 2.61). El análisis factorial confirmatorio brindó un soporte adecuado para el modelo unidimensional de 8 ítems con la presencia de errores correlacionados (χ 2 = 35.133, gl = 18; χ 2 /df = 1.952; CFI = .988; RMSEA = .044 [IC 90% .021, .065]; y SRMR = .0266; AIC= 71.133), además de mostrar una buena consistencia interna en base al valor del coeficiente omega corregido (ωcorregido) de 0.83. Los resultados sugieren que la versión peruana de la FLS presenta adecuadas evidencias psicométricas para medir la probabilidad de perdón en universitarios. Así, se busca contribuir al avance del estudio científico del perdón en América Latina.
... Based on this study design, clinical implications may be deduced for different situations involving the ability to forgive. This is a very important point of future research given the large influence of forgive- ness on wellbeing ( Worthington et al., 2007), cardiovascular health ( Friedberg et al., 2007) as well as overall mortality (Toussaint et al., 2012). In conclusion, given the picture-perfect fit of the present results with the model of Botvinick et al. (2001) (confirming previous correla- tional findings as well as theoretical considerations (e.g.; Pronk et al., 2010;Wilkowski et al., 2010)), it can be assumed that forgiveness is an essential function of cognitive control. ...
In order to act in a socially acceptable way, the ability to forgive is indispensable. It has been suggested that forgiveness relies on cognitive control, more specifically inhibition. In this study, we combined an ultimatum game (UG) and a dictator game (DG) with inhibitory, continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS; verum vs. placebo, within-subjects design) of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to investigate the effect of reduced cognitive control on forgiveness. To this end, participants played an UG against fair and unfair opponents, where they had to accept or reject (fair and unfair) monetary offers, and then received a cTBS prior to playing a DG against the same opponents with reversed roles. The participants now had the possibility to forgive the unfair opponents (allocation of a fair amount of money) or to take revenge whereby the cTBS effects were assessed with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Following verum cTBS, participants allocated significantly less money to their unfair opponents than in the placebo cTBS condition. Also, reaction times (RTs) differed significantly between verum and placebo cTBS for unfair opponents (higher RTs following verum stimulation) but not for fair opponents. These results strongly indicate that cognitive control is a fundamental requirement for overcoming unwanted emotional responses.
... Forgiveness is associated to mental health, physical health and psychological wellbeing [1][2][3][4][5] due to the liberation of permanent pain caused by intense resentment. It was possible to interpret the particular experiences and individual perceptions based on the data collected. ...
... Lawler, Younger, Piferi, Jobe, Edmondson, and Jones (2005) found significant correlations between forgiveness and physical symptoms, medications used, sleep quality, fatigue, and somatic complaints. Several studies have found negative associations between forgiveness levels and blood pressure (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Witvliet, Ludwig, & Vander Laan, 2001), however some studies have not (e.g. Seybold et al., 2001). ...
Objectives: This study seeks (1) to replicate previous findings on the mediating effect of integrity/despair in the relation between forgiveness and depression in an elderly population and (2) to extend these findings to other aspects of functioning, namely life satisfaction and subjective health. Both aims were studied in a sample of residential elderly.
Methods: Residential elderly (n = 329, M = 87 years) filled out questionnaires on forgivingness, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, subjective health and the developmental task of integrity/despair. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediational role of integrity-despair in the relation between forgivingness and the aspects of functioning. Direct and indirect effects are tested.
Results: The results confirmed earlier findings stating that forgivingness and depression are negatively associated in residential elderly and that the developmental task of finding integrity and avoiding despair is significant mediator in this relationship. A similar pattern of mediational associations was found for life satisfaction. However, for subjective health only a direct effect between forgiveness and subjective health was found, whereas the developmental task of integrity and despair did not function as an underlying mechanism.
Discussion: Framed within a life span perspective, we showed that the developmental task of finding a balance between integrity and despair is an important intrapersonal mechanism through which forgivingness is related with depressed feelings and life satisfaction for residential elderly. A different mechanism might explain the direct effect between forgiveness and subjective health.
... Various studies in the literature have shown a correlation between an increase in religious belief and an increased level of forgiveness (Ayten 2009a;Hayward and Krause 2013), and also between some aspects of mental health (Maltby et al. 2004), cardiovascular system health (Friedberg et al. 2007) and physical and mental health (Webb et al. 2013) and the tendency to forgiveness. ...
We aimed to investigate the relationship of religious beliefs and forgiveness in diabetic patients with various sociodemographic characteristics, emotional problems and glycaemic control. The study comprises 100 patients diagnosed with type 2 DM. We used a data collection form, the Scale of Forgiveness and Religiosity (SFR), Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale (PAID), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL). We also recorded blood glucose and HbA1c test results. A statistically significant relationship was determined only between the scores of the STAI-I and the religious belief scales (r = 0.198, p = 0.049). A statistically significant negative relationship was determined between the forgiveness scale points and the BDI (r = 0.326, p = 0.001), the STAI-II (r = 0.308, p = 0.002) and PAID (r = 0.313, p = 0.001) and a positive correlation with ADDQoL (r = 0.284, p = 0.004). To conclude, forgiveness by patient himself or others reduced the emotional problems which were experienced related to diabetes by reducing stress levels and could increase quality of life.
... )。宽 Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Whited, Wheat, & Larkin, 2010;Fincham, May, & Sanchez-Gonzale, 2015 Schumann & Ross, 2010;Barnoux & Gannon, 2014), ...
... In addition, forgiving people are more likely to be happier, more agreeable, and more serene. Forgiveness is also linked to physical health benefi ts such as a reduction in blood pressure levels and it may aid in cardiovascular recovery from stress (Friedberg et al. 2007 ). On the other hand, nursing grudges or dwelling on revenge not only prevents you moving on, it also prompts higher levels of anger and sadness and a signifi cantly higher heart rate and blood pressure. ...
Learning to balance one’s time perspective enables individuals to avoid the negative consequences of excessive reliance on particular time frames while optimizing their cognitive flexibility to shift temporal focus to satisfy situational demands. Achieving a balanced time perspective, or even simply minimizing existing excessive biases, is not easy. It requires an awareness of one’s current temporal orientation, overcoming cultural, social and situational pressures for sustaining a more limited orientation, and a will to live a healthy, socially connected, productive life. This chapter presents a variety of methods, including both evidence-based interventions and questions that can be employed in coaching sessions to address and develop different forms of imbalance in clients’ time perspective.
... Forgiving people are happier, more agreeable and serene. Forgiveness is also linked to physical health benefits such as a reduction in blood pressure levels and it may aid in cardiovascular recovery from stress (Friedberg, Suchday & Shelov, 2007). We propose that forgiveness can be taught, and can be integrated into coaching sessions. ...
This article provides an overview of coaching methods and interventions that address different forms of imbalance in clients’ time perspectives, proposing a fresh look on dealing with multiple time management issues. We selected different coaching intervention techniques according to the time perspective theory, which distinguishes between five different time perspectives: Past Negative, Past Positive, Present Fatalistic, Present Hedonistic and Future. The selection was made based on the literature review and expertise gained through practical experience of coaching. As a result, our paper offers a step-by-step guide for practitioners on how to start with time perspective coaching: from performing initial diagnostics, to distinguishing problems associated with excessive reliance on particular time frames and providing practical tools that can help individuals to overcome the negative consequences associated with them. This paper presents an alternative approach to working with time management related issues and to developing a healthier relationship with time in general. Research shows that having a balanced time perspective improves well-being and productivity on many levels: work-related, social and personal.
... A number of reviews (McCullough, Root, Tabak, & Witvliet, 2009;Worthington, 2005) and meta-analyses (Fehr, Gelfand, & Nag, 2010;Riek & Mania, 2012) have been published on the topic and forgiveness is associated with a number of positive benefits. For example, granting forgiveness has been shown to be associated with better health and well-being (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Lawler et al., 2005), lower levels of stress (Friedberg, Adonis, Von Bergen, & Suchday, 2005;Harris et al., 2006), more positive emotions (Little, Simmons, & Nelson, 2007;Takaku, 2001), and increased relationship satisfaction, commitment, and trust between the victim and the transgressor (Gordon, Hughes, Tomcik, Dixon, & Litzinger, 2009;McCullough et al., 1998). However, the vast majority of the psychological work on forgiveness has focused on the forgiveness process from the point of view of the victim and ignored the perspective of the perpetrator. ...
The current study examines forgiveness from the perspective of the transgressor, an often overlooked aspect of interpersonal forgiveness and a model of forgiveness seeking is proposed. Using a 2-wave longitudinal design, 166 participants completed measures of the characteristics of their transgressions, their feelings of guilt and shame, and their forgiveness-seeking behaviors. Cross-lagged correlational analysis indicated that guilt at time 1 was related to forgiveness seeking at time 2, but the opposite was not true. Path analyses revealed that guilt mediated the impact of transgression and relationship factors (i.e., transgression severity, responsibility, rumination, and relationship commitment) on forgiveness-seeking behavior over time. Shame, however, did not demonstrate any unique relationship with forgiveness-seeking behaviors. These findings suggest that guilt serves as a primary motivator for forgiveness seeking, indicating that it is a particularly important element to consider when working with transgressors. Overall, this study provides a conceptual model of the antecedents of forgiveness-seeking behaviors by transgressors, similar to those available for the antecedents of forgiveness seeking by victims.
... They found that forgiveness imagery impacted cardiovascular functioning by producing lower heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) responses than grudge-holding imagery. Lawler's research (Lawler et al., 2003;Lawler et al., 2005;Lawler-Row, Karremans, Scott, Edlis-Matityahou, & Edwards, 2008) subsequently linked forgiveness to hemodynamic markers of cardiovascular health, with the most reproducible relationship demonstrated for diastolic blood pressure (DBP), a finding replicated in other forgiveness research (Friedberg, Suchday, & Shelov, 2007;Larsen et al., 2012;Whited, Wheat, & Larkin, 2010). ...
Few studies have investigated the physiology underlying forgiveness, and those that have ignore the intimate relationship context. The present study, therefore, examined blood pressure and myocardial oxygen consumption, 2 indices of cardiovascular functioning, in a sample of married couples (n 90) recruited from the community. Both trait forgiveness and forgiveness specific to the spouse (dyadic forgiveness) were examined. The actor-partner interdependence model was used to examine actor (in-trapersonal) and partner (interpersonal) effects of trait forgiveness and dyadic forgiveness on cardiovascular functioning. With marital satisfaction controlled, trait forgiveness yielded actor effects for both indices of cardiovascular functioning among husbands but not wives. However, the strength of the associations for trait forgiveness and dyadic forgiveness did not differ significantly between husbands and wives. This research is the first to model physiology through dyadic data analysis. These findings are discussed in terms of sex differences in forgiveness, and suggestions are outlined for future research.
... Alan yazında bağışlamanın uzlaşma ile ilişkili olduğu, bağışlayan kişilerin bağışlamayanlarla karşılaştırıldıklarında hata yapan kişiye yönelik daha az saldırgan olduklarını ve ilişki yararına fedakarlıkta bulunmaya ve işbirliği yapmaya daha yatkın olduklarını (Karremans ve Van Lange, 2004), bağışlama söz konusu olduğunda ilişkiye yönelik bağlılığın, ilişki doyumunun, karşılıklı güvenin daha yüksek düzeyde deneyimlendiğini (Fincham ve Beach, 2002;Gordon, Hughes, Tomcik, Dixon ve Litzinger, 2009;McCullough ve ark., 1998) ortaya koyan bulgular vardır. Ayrıca bağışlamanın hem fiziksel hem de psikolojik sağlıkla yakından ilişkili olması nedeniyle (Lawler, Younger, Piferi, Billington, Jobe Edmondson ve Jones 2005;Friedberg, Suchday ve Shelov, 2007;Friedberg, Adonis, Von Bergen ve Suchday, 2005;Harris, Luskin, Norman, Standard, Bruning, Evans ve Thoresen, 2006) öznel iyi oluş ve yaşam doyumunu arttırdığı (Ysseldyk ve ark., 2007) bilinmektedir. Bu nedenle de bağışlamayla ilgili süreç modelleri psikolojik müdahale ve terapi süreçlerinde 1980'li yıllardan itibaren geliştirilmeye ve giderek önem kazanarak kullanılmaya başlanmıştır (Fitzgibbons, 1986;Enright, 1998;Hope, 1987;Worthington ve Diblasio, 1990;Mauger ve ark., 1992;Enright, 1996). ...
Allthough almost everyone has some covert notions about it, attraction of forgiveness as an academic issue was limited with theology and philosophy for many years. In recent years social psychologists and clinical psychologists started to show interest both in self forgiveness and forgiving others. The purpose of this article is to review the definitions and models of forgiveness and giving information about the empirical research findings in Turkey.
The larger number of adults who enter their senior years with a high burden of chronic diseases has led to new metrics designed to promote health pro-activity, such as the calculation of one's "healthspan". These efforts call for re-evaluation as to what is meant by "health". A large body of epidemiologic and clinical investigation identifies that good health is shaped by specific health behaviors (aerobic exercise, resistance training, sleep, and good diet quality) and four psychological determinants (positive emotions, positive mindsets, purposeful living, and social connectivity). In common, each of these determinants produce "vitality", which can be defined as having the pleasing sensation of feeling energetic. Having a strong sense of vitality produces a sense of agency, provides resilience, and serves as a leading indicator of good health. Importantly, vitality can be assessed as a single item "vital sign" in clinical practice and can be promoted by recommending simple steps to patients, such as suggesting that they initiate walking or other aerobic activities. Because health habits and psychological determinants of health are inter-related, such simple steps can initiate a "virtuous cycle" of health improvement. An emphasis on vitality can also encourage patients to become more cognizant of their level of energy and manage it through health-promoting behaviors rather than quick fix behaviors. Finally, vitality assessment and prescription can promote more successful aging. In sum, an updated and more clinically useful definition of health recognizes that it is a dynamic entity that is influenced at any time by one's engagement in physical and psychological practices that promote health. Accordingly, an updated definition of health is proposed: good health is characterized by physical and psychological well-being and is associated with vitality.
Collection of contributions from the 5th year of the Czech-Slovak scientific conference QUALITY OF LIFE 2021, which took place on August 26 and 27, 2021 at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prešov in Prešov.
Zusammenfassung
Im Laufe seines Lebens und der diesseitigen Existenz erlebt nahezu jeder Mensch Kränkungen, zwischenmenschliche Enttäuschungen und interpersonale Konflikte, die ihn in unterschiedlichem Maße belasten können. Dabei können Unversöhnlichkeit, Rachegedanken und ein „Nicht-Vergeben-können“ zu deutlichen Einschränkungen der Lebensqualität und der eigenen „Psychohygiene“ bis hin zur Manifestation psychischer Störungen führen. Die Fähigkeit zur Vergebung kann hier als eine Coping-Methode im Rahmen eines spirituellen und psychotherapeutischen Prozesses angesehen werden, der eine nachhaltige Verminderung von inneren Inkonsistenzen und Anspannungen bedingen kann und zu einem verbesserten Wohlbefinden sowie Seelenheil und Seelenruhe entscheidend beiträgt. Im folgenden Übersichtsartikel werden die verschiedenen Begrifflichkeiten, theologischen Annahmen und psychologisch-theoretischen Modelle zur Vergebung und die Modalitäten der praktischen Anwendung der Vergebungstherapie dargestellt.
Preventing violence and fostering peaceful relationships is something the world needs urgently. In the quest for truly lasting peace, there is perhaps growing recognition of fostering and restoring peace at macro-levels and micro-levels in formal and informal institutions. Crucially, however, it is important to achieve a state of peace within before any attempt to be at peace with others and the world at large is made. This chapter contributes to bringing into focus the relationship between peaceful identities and internal psychological states and the concept of restorative justice. The chapter’s premise is that one can develop resilience and have the ability to cope and be emotionally stronger and be an empathetic individual by shining a light on what causes a state of unhappiness or a lack of equilibrium. This chapter reflects on how the act of healing relationships with self and others, drawing on peace psychology and restorative justice, will help resolve conflict and in turn reduce feelings of personal shame, which can often be crippling to personal growth and development. The chapter begins by conceptualizing self-fulfilment and the importance of striving to be congruent and true to oneself. This is followed by a discussion on personal coping and resilience within the context of broken relationships one has with others and, indeed, oneself. This chapter also considers the psychological and restorative aspects of forgiveness, particularly the importance of forgiving oneself despite the potential difficulties in doing this. This raises the idea that such healing can promote inner strength and help one be better able to cope with internal and external conflicts. Finally, the chapter discusses forgiveness in some religious traditions and outlines strategies to develop internal coping mechanisms drawing on them.
Background: The process of forgiveness is proposed to reduce patient and family conflict and suffering in the face of life-limiting illness. However, it is unclear which theoretical perspectives underpin the concept of forgiveness in palliative care, and how culture may influence it. Objectives: To identify and synthesize primary evidence that underpins the concept of forgiveness within palliative care, and identify theoretical perspectives, including cultural assumptions. Design: A systematic review of studies on forgiveness in palliative care regardless of design was prospectively registered on PROSPERO. Narrative synthesis was conducted and the modified Seven-Point Checklist and modified Status Assessment Tool applied to appraise study quality (level 1) and contributions to theory building (level 2). Data Sources: Reference chaining and hand-searching were conducted for 10 electronic databases from 1960 to June 30, 2020. Results: Thirty-nine studies were included. Seven provided a definition of forgiveness, and six studies reported a process model. Twelve patient studies scored "high" on quality level 1 and nine scored "high" on level 2. Conceptualization of forgiveness included a conscious decision to abandon negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors associated with conflicts, to find positive outcomes through processing of negative affect and cognitive reframing of conflicts. The process of forgiveness develops through time paralleled by an attributional movement from an external to an internal locus of control. Theoretical perspectives of systems, exchange and choice, social constructionism, behaviorism, and humanism were identified. Cultural contexts impact forgiveness. Conclusion: The synthesized model is based on primary evidence of mixed quality. Future research needs better theoretical conceptualization utilizing cultural perspectives. Forgiveness interventions with consideration of cultural influences are encouraged.
Natural substances and integrated therapies: food for thought from the seminars of the study group of Integrated Therapies and Natural Substances.
Edited by Andrea Geraci, Anna Maria Marella, Francesca Mondello, Annarita Stringaro
2022, iv, 120 p. Rapporti ISTISAN 22/2 (in Italian), Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
Natural products have a long history of use as drugs, drug precursors and/or adjuvants for the treatment of various pathological conditions and there are many examples of molecules derived from natural substances that have changed the history of medicine, along with the related Nobel Prize assigned. Interest in natural substances is growing progressively for cultural, scientific and economic reasons. Often some products of natural origin, in the commercial form of food supplements, are neither standardized nor studied for all their possible actions, both beneficial and adverse, and the enormous demand by the consumer of these products for “health-promoting use” is noted. This volume is intended to represent a popularizing tool of recent research presented in some seminars organized by the Study Group of Integrated Therapies and Natural Substances of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (the National Institute of Health in Italy) to animate reflection on lights and shadows in the field of integrated therapies that involve the use of natural substances.
Key words: Vegetable products; Phytotherapy; Integrative medicine
Nahezu jeder Mensch erlebt im Laufe seines Lebens interpersonale Konflikte, Verletzungen und Kränkungen und kann dabei in unterschiedlichem Maße durch Unversöhnlichkeit und Rachegedanken vereinnahmt und belastet sein. Dabei kann ein «Nichtvergeben können» deutliche Einschränkungen der psychosozialen Funktionalität und Lebensqualität bedingen und mit erhöhter Psychopathologie im Sinne einer posttraumatischen Verbitterungsstörung einhergehen. Vergebung kann als eine Coping-Methode für Kränkungen, Verletzungen, Unrecht und Verbitterung verstanden und auch als eine psychotherapeutische Intervention angesehen werden, die eine nachhaltige Reduktion von Inkonsistenz erzeugt und das personale Wohlbefinden entscheidend verbessert. Im folgenden Übersichtsartikel werden zunächst die verschiedenen Begrifflichkeiten und die psychologisch-theoretischen Modelle zur Vergebung vorgestellt. Daran anschließend werden die Modalitäten der praktischen Anwendung der Vergebungstherapie dargestellt. Zusammenfassend muss jedoch gesagt werden, dass Forschung insbesondere zu «Vergebung» sich noch ganz am Anfang befindet, sodass wirklich valide Aussagen derzeit noch nicht zu treffen sind.
The concept of "subjective well-being" is used as a term for happiness in positive psychology. The subjective well-being called "happiness" among the people is the emotional and cognitive evaluation of the life. Being in a romantic relationship is one of the factors that increase the subjective well-being of the individual. Being in a romantic relationship can provide satisfaction and happiness to the individual, as well as causing events that would lead to get hurt from time to time. Here, the individual displays behaviours such as avoidance or revenge or prefers forgiving as a result of negative emotions caused by getting hurt. In this study, it is aimed to investigate whether the forgiveness levels of university students who have romantic relationship predicts the subjective well-being or not. The study is performed on 329 students who are studying at Hitit University and On Dokuz Mayıs University in 2016-2017 academic year and who have romantic relationships. "Heartland Forgiveness Scale", "Positive Negative Feelings Scale" and "Life Satisfaction Scale" and "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researchers are used in the study. In the study, it can be stated that as the forgiveness scores of the students increase, the subjective well-being scores are also found to increase thus high forgiveness is a factor that increases the subjective well-being level. As a result of the study, the predictor effect of forgiveness levels on subjective well-being is examined and it is determined that self-forgiveness, forgiving others and forgiving the situation which are the sub-dimensions of forgiveness explain 13% of the subjective well-being. Extended English abstract is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file.Özet“Öznel iyi-oluş” kavramı pozitif psikolojide mutluluk kavramının karşılığı olarak kullanılmaktadır. Halk arasında ”mutluluk” olarak adlandırılan öznel iyi oluş yaşamın duygusal ve bilişsel açıdan değerlendirilmesidir. Romantik ilişki içerisinde olmak, bireyin öznel iyi oluşunu artıran etkenlerden biridir. Romantik ilişki içerisinde olmak bireylere doyum ve mutluluk sağladığı gibi zaman zaman incinmesine yol açacak olaylar yaşamasına da neden olabilmektedir. Birey incinmenin getirdiği olumsuz duygular sonucunda kaçınma ya da öç alma gibi davranışlar sergilemekte ya da affetme yolunu seçmektedir. Bu çalışmada romantik ilişki yaşayan üniversite öğrencilerinin affedicilik düzeylerinin öznel iyi oluşlarını yordayıp yordamadığının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma 2016-2017 eğitim öğretim yılında Hitit Üniversitesi ve Ondokuz Mayıs Üniversitesinde öğrenim gören ve romantik ilişkisi olan 329 öğrenci üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmada araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan “Kişisel Bilgi Formu” ile “Heartland Affetme Ölçeği”, “Pozitif Negatif Duygu Ölçeği” ve “Yaşam Doyum Ölçeği” kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada öğrencilerin affetme puanları arttıkça öznel iyi oluş puanlarının da arttığı belirlenmiştir ve bu sonuca göre affediciliğin yüksek olmasının öznel iyi oluş düzeyini artıran bir faktör olduğu söylenebilir. Araştırma sonucunda affedicilik düzeylerinin öznel iyi oluş üzerinde yordayıcı etkisi incelenmiş ve affetmenin alt boyutları olan kendini affetme, başkalarını affetme ve durumu affetme öznel iyi oluşun % 13’ünü açıkladığı belirlenmiştir.
Rumination is a way of cognitive coping associated with depression and hostility that prolongs cardiovascular responses to stress. If repeated over time, the associated autonomic dysregulation may be 1 mechanism linking depression and hostility to cardiovascular disease. The current meta-analyses investigate the magnitude of cardiovascular responses (heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure) to induced state sadness and angry rumination which are associated with depression and hostility, respectively. A literature search identified 43 studies (3,348 participants) meeting inclusion criteria. A random effects model was applied to calculate cardiovascular reactivity weighted effect sizes during induced sadness and angry rumination. Large and significant effect sizes were found for all analyses, with the standardized mean statistic, d, for single group designs ranging from .75 to 1.39. Results suggest that angry rumination may have larger cardiovascular effects than sadness rumination, and that rumination likely affects blood pressure more than heart rate. Potential implications of this relationship are discussed in light of limitations of the current study and existing rumination research. (PsycINFO Database Record
Forgiveness is a character strength and process that, when practiced, is associated with improved psychological well-being, physical health outcomes, and longevity. Forgiveness can serve as a protective factor that buffers against poor health and psychological consequences. Common misconceptions about forgiveness can serve as barriers to the desire to cultivate this protective strength, as forgiveness is often conflated with permissiveness, and perceived as permission for a transgressor to engage in hurtful conduct. The benefits of forgiveness, however, are most significant for the individual who has been transgressed, rather than the transgressor. Failing to forgive, or unforgiveness, is the practice of engaging in ruminative thoughts of anger, vengeance, hate, and resentment that have unproductive outcomes for the ruminator, such as increased anxiety, depression, elevated blood pressure, vascular resistance, decreased immune response, and worse outcomes in coronary artery disease. Practicing forgiveness enables the transgressed individual to reduce their engagement in rumination thus reducing their experience of anger, resentment, and hate. Forgiveness, then, is a pathway to psychological well-being and health outcomes.
Applied studies that attempt to facilitate forgiveness currently provide the only direct evidence about the effects of forgiveness on well-being. This chapter discusses applied research by reviewing the evidence it provides on the impact of forgiveness on well-being. Research on forgiveness is growing and steadily lending weight to the case for the importance of forgiveness in maintaining and promoting well-being. The chapter offers a much expanded view for research on facilitating forgiveness. It examines the implications of positive psychology for attempts to facilitate forgiveness; then it identifies the premises underlying the approach offered. Finally, it discusses the facilitation of forgiveness in terms of two dimensions, breadth of reach and intensity, and relates them to delivery formats. A next step is to develop detailed protocols for the levels of intervention identified and to investigate the efficacy of each, not only in preventing distress but also in enhancing optimal human functioning.
This chapter addresses the issue of not simply adapting positively to life adversities, but the description of various processes that lead to self-development and self-maturation, as results of a struggle with such life adversities. In particular, the concepts of post-traumatic growth (PTG) wisdom, forgiveness and self-forgiveness are reviewed, by emphasizing their clinical relevance and by describing specific psychotherapeutic strategies aimed at their promotion. Finally, possible controversial issues concerning the implementation of such interventions are discussed. Clinical recommendations are then suggested.
While many recent studies have examined the relationship between forgiveness and health in healthy populations, there is growing emphasis on studying this link in medical patient populations. This chapter will discuss the association between forgiveness and both mental and physical health in patients with medical illnesses, with a particular focus on those with cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, HIV/AIDS, cancer, and terminal illness. The few forgiveness interventions that have been studied in medical patients will also be discussed. In this burgeoning line of research, more research is needed to examine the relationship between forgiveness and objectively measured physiological markers of illness, using longitudinal rather than cross-sectional study designs, and testing the impact of forgiveness interventions on such physiological parameters. Forgiveness of self, other, and by God must also be considered when examining forgiveness in patients with medical illness.
Background: Role of personality and some components of behaviors, traits and emotions as effective factors on coronary heart diseases (CHD) were presented nearly 50 years ago with the concept of “type A” behavior, a compound of hostility, impatience, competitiveness and dominance. Later studies showed crucial role of other traits and behaviors like anger, introversion, depression and forgiveness.
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare personality type and forgiveness in the patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases based on gender.
Materials and method: The cross sectional study was designed and sample was collected from men and women referred to cardiologists (within the age range of 23-75 years old) from the patients of Shahid Rajaee Heart Hospital of Tehran, Iran from December 2010 to March 2011. Total 87 subjects were selected using random method. The study subjects were given two questionnaires: personality type A (with two factors: TA1, pathologic behaviors of type A personality and TA2, non pathologic behaviors of type A personality) and Interpersonal Forgiveness Inventory (IFI), with three subscales namely reestablishment of relationship, control of revenge and realistic perception. Data were analyzed using SPSS software.
Results: Mean(±SD) age of men was 50.5±11.6 years (n=33) and 55.7±14.4 years in women (n=54). Mean duration of suffering from cardiovascular diseases in men was 7.8 years and in women was 9.10 years. The study found high mean scores of type A pathologic but not non pathologic type A among women compared to men (p
The purpose of this study was to review four parameters (forgiveness, gratitude, hope and empathy) frequently noted when evaluating well-being. We reviewed clinical studies from 1966 to present. We included 63 articles. All four of the parameters were shown to generally improve an individual's well-being. These parameters demonstrated a positive influence within more specific societal issues including improvement in social relationships, delinquent behavior and physical health. These parameters were generally derived from training and religion. This study suggests that these parameters may improve either one of general well-being, pro-social and positive relational behavior and demonstrate positive health effects.
Examined the prediction of adults' situational and dispositional empathy-related responses from measures of emotionality (emotional intensity and positive and negative affect) and regulation. A multimethod approach including self-reported, facial, and heart rate (HR) responses was used to assess situational vicarious emotional responding; Ss' (and sometimes friends') reports were used to assess the dispositional characteristics. In general, dispositional sympathy, personal distress, and perspective taking exhibited different, conceptually logical patterns of association with indexes of emotionality and regulation. The relations of situational measures of vicarious emotional responding to dispositional emotionality and regulation varied somewhat by type of measure and gender. Findings for facial and HR (for men) measures were primarily for the more evocative empathy-inducing stimulus. In general, the findings provided support for the role of individual differences in emotionality and regulation in empathy-related responding.
Objective: We examined the effects of hostility and harassment on neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and emotional responses in 52 healthy white men. Methods: Subjects were preselected on the basis of scores in the top and bottom quartiles (above 23 and below 15, respectively) on the Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scale. Subjects participated in a solvable anagram task. Thirty subjects were harassed by the technician during the task. Results: Harassed subjects with high Ho scores exhibited enhanced and prolonged blood pressures, heart rate, forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, norepinephrine, testosterone, and cortisol responses relative to low-Ho subjects in the harassed condition and high and low-Ho subjects in the nonharassed condition. Heightened physiological reactivity in high-Ho subjects was correlated with arousal of negative affects. Conclusions: The findings are consistent with the general hypothesis that high hostile men show excessive behaviorally-induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responsivity to interpersonal challenging situations. Moreover, in high-Ho men, the stress-induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine hyperreactivity is associated with the arousal of negative affects such as anger.
The effect of various circumstances known to moderate willingness to forgive was studied in a sample of adults whose ages ranged from 18 to 90 years. The factorial structure of these circumstances was shown, as well as the link between age and the different factors. Four factors were extracted: (1) A Revenge Versus Forgiveness factor reflecting a general tendency in people to forgive (or to seek revenge) regardless of circumstances. (2) A Personal and Social Circumstances factor synthesizing the effects of various incentives from the social environment of the person. (3) An Obstacle to Forgiveness factor synthesizing the effects of the circumstance linked to the offense. (4) A Forgiveness Block factor. Age appeared as the strongest determinant of forgivingness.
In all, 39 participants (19 male, 20 female) were classified as either happy (n = 19) or unhappy (n = 20) with a relationship. Baseline salivary cortisol was measured. Participants imagined (for a 5-min duration) scenes typical of their relationship, and salivary cortisol was measured again. Participants in unhappy relationships had higher cortisol reactivity (indicating higher stress) following the imagery. Cortisol reactivity was predicted by relationship variables (high love and liking for the partner, high happiness with the relationship) and personality variables (high forgivingness, low trait anger). Personality had an indirect effect through the relationship variables. Physical health was predicted by personality variables. Mental health was predicted by both personality and relationship variables. Implications of these results for counseling health psychology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The construct of interpersonal forgiveness is operationalized and tested with 197 college students and 197 of their same-gender parents in the Midwestern United States. The Enright Forgiveness Inventory (EFI) showed strong internal consistency reliability. The EFI correlates significantly and negatively with anxiety particularly when a person is experiencing deep hurt in a developmentally relevant area. Age differences also were observed. Particularly when the hurt concerns a developmentally relevant area, college students are less forgiving and have more anxiety than their same-gender parents. The EFI thus appears to have sound psychometric properties.
Forgiveness is a variable closely related to religiousness and spirituality that has been hypothesized to be protective of mental and physical health. However, we do not clearly understand which aspects of forgiveness are most clearly associated with health outcomes, and the conditions under which these relationships occur. This study used national probability data to systematically examine age differences in the association between forgiveness, religiousness/ spirituality, and respondent reports of mental and physical health. Results showed age differences in the levels of forgiveness of others and feeling forgiven by God. In both cases, middle and old age adults showed higher levels of these forms of forgiveness than young adults. Furthermore, the relationship between forgiveness of others and respondent reports of mental and physical health varies by age. Forgiveness of others was more strongly related to self-reported mental and physical health for middle and old age adults than for young adults. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44638/1/10804_2004_Article_341950.pdf
This study examined the comparative potency of several psychological stressors and exercise in eliciting myocardial ischemia as measured by left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) changes using radionuclide ventriculography. Twenty-seven subjects underwent both exercise (bicycle) and psychological stressors (mental arithmetic, recall of an incident that elicited anger, giving a short speech defending oneself against a charge of shoplifting) during which EF, blood pressure, heart rate and ST segment were measured. Eighteen subjects had 1-vessel coronary artery disease (CAD), defined by greater than 50% diameter stenosis in 1 artery as assessed by arteriography. Nine subjects served as healthy control subjects. Anger recall reduced EF more than exercise and the other psychological stressors (overall F [3.51] = 2.87, p = .05). Respective changes in EF for the CAD patients were -5% during anger recall, +2% during exercise, 0% during mental arithmetic and 0% during the speech stressor. More patients with CAD had significant reduction in EF (greater than or equal to 7%) during anger (7 of 18) than during exercise (4 of 18). The difference in EF change between patients with CAD and healthy control subjects was significant for both anger (t25 = 2.23, p = 0.04) and exercise (t25 = 2.63, p = 0.01) stressors. In this group of patients with CAD, anger appeared to be a particularly potent psychological stressor.
The effect of dispositional optimism on recovery from coronary artery bypass surgery was examined in a group of 51 middle-aged men. Patients provided information at three points in time--(a) on the day before surgery, (b) 6-8 days postoperatively, and (c) 6 months postoperatively. Information was obtained relating to the patient's rate of physical recovery, mood, and postsurgical quality of life. Information was also gathered regarding the manner in which the patients attempted to cope with the stress of the surgery and its aftermath. As expected, dispositional optimism proved to be an important predictor of coping efforts and of surgical outcomes. More specifically, dispositional optimism (as assessed prior to surgery) correlated positively with manifestations of problem-focused coping and negatively with the use of denial. Dispositional optimism was also associated with a faster rate of physical recovery during the period of hospitalization and with a faster rate of return to normal life activities subsequent to discharge. Finally, there was a strong positive association between level of optimism and postsurgical quality of life at 6 months.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the prediction of adults' situational and dispositional empathy-related responses from measures of emotionality (emotional intensity and positive and negative affect) and regulation. A multimethod approach including self-reported, facial, and heart rate (HR) responses was used to assess situational vicarious emotional responding; Ss' (and sometimes friends') reports were used to assess the dispositional characteristics. In general, dispositional sympathy, personal distress, and perspective taking exhibited different, conceptually logical patterns of association with indexes of emotionality and regulation. The relations of situational measures of vicarious emotional responding to dispositional emotionality and regulation varied somewhat by type of measure and gender. Findings for facial and HR (for men) measures were primarily for the more evocative empathy-inducing stimulus. In general, the findings provided support for the role of individual differences in emotionality and regulation in empathy-related responding.
We examined the effects of hostility and harassment on neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and emotional responses in 52 healthy white men.
Subjects were preselected on the basis of scores in the top and bottom quartiles (above 23 and below 15, respectively) on the Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scale. Subjects participated in a solvable anagram task. Thirty subjects were harassed by the technician during the task.
Harassed subjects with high Ho scores exhibited enhanced and prolonged blood pressures, heart rate, forearm blood flow, forearm vascular resistance, norepinephrine, testosterone, and cortisol responses relative to low-Ho subjects in the harassed condition and high and low-Ho subjects in the nonharassed condition. Heightened physiological reactivity in high-Ho subjects was correlated with arousal of negative affects.
The findings are consistent with the general hypothesis that high hostile men show excessive behaviorally-induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responsivity to interpersonal challenging situations. Moreover, in high-Ho men, the stress-induced cardiovascular and neuroendocrine hyperreactivity is associated with the arousal of negative affects such as anger.
Interpersonal offenses frequently mar relationships. Theorists have argued that the responses victims adopt toward their offenders have ramifications not only for their cognition, but also for their emotion, physiology, and health. This study examined the immediate emotional and physiological effects that occurred when participants (35 females, 36 males) rehearsed hurtful memories and nursed grudges (i.e., were unforgiving) compared with when they cultivated empathic perspective taking and imagined granting forgiveness (i.e., were forgiving) toward real-life offenders. Unforgiving thoughts prompted more aversive emotion, and significantly higher corrugator (brow) electromyogram (EMG), skin conductance, heart rate, and blood pressure changes from baseline. The EMG, skin conductance, and heart rate effects persisted after imagery into the recovery periods. Forgiving thoughts prompted greater perceived control and comparatively lower physiological stress responses. The results dovetail with the psychophysiology literature and suggest possible mechanisms through which chronic unforgiving responses may erode health whereas forgiving responses may enhance it.
Cardiovascular reactivity is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease. We describe three considerations that are crucial for a causal model of cardiovascular responses to stress: the need for laboratory-life generalizability, the role of interactions between environmental exposures and individual response predispositions, and the importance of the duration of both stressor exposure and cardiovascular responding.
We illustrate current understanding of stress-cardiovascular disease relationships with examples from the human and animal psychophysiology, epidemiology, and genetics literature.
In a causal model of reactivity, the usefulness of laboratory assessment rests on the assumption that laboratory-based cardiovascular reactivity predicts responses in the natural environment. We find only limited generalizability and suggest that cardiovascular responses to stress can be better understood when examined in the natural environment. The interaction of individual response predispositions and stressor exposures contributes to the development and progression of cardiovascular disease; stress-disease relationships could therefore be better understood if predispositions and exposures were assessed simultaneously in interactive models. Cardiovascular responses to stress are likely to be most deleterious when responses are prolonged. Responses may vary in their magnitude, frequency, and duration; however, reactivity captures only response magnitude. The assessment of anticipatory and recovery measures, with response magnitude, may therefore lead to a more useful model of the stress-disease relationship.
A causal model of cardiovascular responses to stress should generalize to the real world, assess interactions between individual predispositions and environmental exposures, and focus on sustained pathogenic exposures and responses.
This study investigated the relation of dispositional hostility to cardiovascular reactivity during an anger-recall task and of hostility and distraction to posttask recovery in 80 healthy women (ages 18-30). Half were randomly assigned to distraction during recovery. Hostility predicted slower systolic blood pressure and preejection period during recovery. Distraction was related to faster cardiac recovery, higher high-frequency (HF) power, lower low-frequency (LF) power and LF:HF ratios, and lower state anger and rumination during recovery. These results indicate deleterious influences of hostility on cardiovascular recovery but not during anger recall. The findings also show beneficial effects of distraction in expediting cardiovascular recovery, possibly through reducing rumination and anger.
Increased blood pressure (BP) reactivity to subtypes of psychological stimuli may differentially predict the development of future BP elevation or hypertension. The authors present the 9-12-year follow-up results of 82 (86%) of 95 male participants with different BP levels. They were healthy, untreated, and age-matched volunteers from a routine health checkup carried out on all 35-, 40-, and 45-year-olds from a medium-sized city. Intra-arterial systolic blood pressure (SBP) during the psychological tasks improved the prediction of future casual SBP and noninvasive 24-hr ambulatory SBP compared with predictions from casual diagnostic measurements. Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was very useful when added to casual DBP in predicting the need for antihypertensive medication. Reactivity to active tasks especially predicts the need for antihypertensive medication.
Trait forgivingness is the disposition to forgive interpersonal transgressions over time and across situations. We define forgiveness as the replacement of negative unforgiving emotions with positive, other-oriented emotions. Rumination has been suggested as a mediator between forgivingness and emotional outcomes; however, we suggest that different content of rumination leads to different outcomes after transgressions. In four studies of 179, 233, 80, and 66 undergraduate students, trait forgivingness was negatively correlated with trait anger, hostility, neuroticism, fear, and vengeful rumination and was positively correlated with agreeableness, extraversion, and trait empathy. The disposition to ruminate vengefully mediated the relationship between trait forgivingness and (1) anger-related traits and (2) both revenge motivations and state anger following a specific recent transgression, but it did not mediate between forgivingness and (1) fearfulness and (2) avoidance motivations following a specific transgression. Self-hate statements, a proxy for depressive rumination, mediated the relationship between forgivingness and both depression and fearfulness but not the relationship between forgivingness and trait anger. Future research should distinguish the contents of mental rumination following interpersonal transgressions.
The relationship of forgiveness, both state and trait, to health was assessed. Eighty-one community adults completed a packet of questionnaires and participated in a laboratory interview about a time of hurt or betrayal. Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded during a 10 min baseline, the interview and during a recovery period; interviews were structured around a framework of questions and videotaped. Four measures of forgiveness were all statistically associated with five measures of health (physical symptoms, medications used, sleep quality, fatigue, and somatic complaints). Trait forgiveness was associated with decreased reactivity (rate-pressure product) to the interview, but sympathetic reactivity did not account for the trait forgiveness-health association. Four mechanisms or pathways by which forgiveness could lead to fewer physical symptoms were examined: spirituality, social skills, reduction in negative affect, and reduction in stress. All factors either partially or fully mediated the effect of forgiveness on health; however, the strongest mediator for both state and trait forgiveness was reduction in negative affect. For state forgiveness, the second strongest mediator was reduction in stress; for trait forgiveness, both conflict management and reduction in stress were strong contributors.
Forgiveness is a suite of prosocial motivational changes that occurs after a person has incurred a transgression. People who are inclined to forgive their transgressors tend to be more agreeable, more emotionally stable, and, some research suggests, more spiritually or religiously inclined than people who do not tend to forgive their transgressors. Several psychological processes appear to foster or inhibit forgiveness. These processes include empathy for the transgressor, generous attributions and appraisals regarding the transgression and transgressor, and rumination about the transgression. Interpreting these findings in light of modern trait theory would help to create a more unified understanding of how personality might influence forgiveness.
Unforgiveness and forgiveness are distinct. One cannot forgive unless unforgiveness has occurred, but one might reduce unforgiveness by many ways-only one of which is forgiveness. We present a model intended to further assist and guide subsequent empirical exploration. The model explains the personal, relationship, and environmental factors that lead people to either unforgiveness or forgiveness. Related areas are reviewed to stimulate as yet unexplored research and clinical efforts related to forgiveness. Clinical protocols for promoting forgiveness in enrichment, preventative, and therapeutic contexts are described.
The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others, and personality and general health measures. Three hundred and twenty-four undergraduate students (100 males, 224 females) completed measures of forgiveness of oneself, forgiveness of others, the Abbreviated form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the General Health Questionnaire-28. Failure to forgive oneself is accompanied by personality and general health scores that reflect individual psychopathology, with men and women scoring higher in neuroticism, depression and anxiety. A failure to forgive others is accompanied by personality and general health scores that reflect social introversion among men (low extraversion scores) and social-pathology among women (social dysfunction, psychoticism). Further, a failure to forgive others is accompanied by higher depression scores among men and women. The findings suggest that the concept of forgiveness can be related to individual and social psychopathology.
The purposes of this study were to examine the relationship between demographic variables and perceived ability to forgive, to explore how people use and conceptualize interpersonal forgiveness, and to discuss the initial development of the Forgiveness Attitudes Questionnaire (FAQ), an instrument designed for this study to explore forgiveness. The instrument was administered to 155 undergraduates from 2 midwestern colleges. Results suggest that the FAQ shows early promise as an instrument for exploring interpersonal forgiveness, with initial evidence for acceptable internal consistency, content, and construct validities. Although marital status and sex had little correlation with perceived willingness to forgive, religious variables did, with Ss who reported that they were born again perceiving their own level of interpersonal forgiveness to be higher than those who were not born again. The implications of the results are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This handbook is a primer for practitioners and researchers striving to incorporate the assessment of human strengths, resources, and fulfillment into their work. Contributors aptly examine the scientific underpinnings and practical applications of measures of hope, optimism, self-efficacy, problem solving, locus of control, creativity, wisdom, courage, positive emotion, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, empathy, attachment, forgiveness, humor, gratitude, faith, morality, and quality of life. Vocational and multicultural applications of positive psychological assessment are also discussed, as is the measurement of contextual variables that may facilitate the development or enhancement of human strength. The variety of perspectives offered will be immensely helpful to readers who wish to incorporate balance into their assessments and research through the integration of theoretically grounded positive measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Forgiveness is an important theological construct that impinges directly upon our ability to relate to others. Some research associates higher forgiveness with better mental health but little data exists which relates biological factors to forgiveness. This study correlated forgiveness scale scores of 68 community adults with a variety of immunological, psychophysiological and other physiological factors. Blood samples and physiological measurements were taken after a 30-minute rest period. In addition, participants completed a series of standardized assessments of anger, anxiety, depression, social desirability and coping styles. Higher levels of forgiveness correlated with better health habits, lower anxiety, lower anger, lower depression, and more task coping. In addition, people with higher levels of forgiveness had lower hematocrit levels, lower white blood cell counts, and higher TxPA levels. Lower forgiveness levels were correlated with higher T-helper/cytotoxic cell ratios. In general, results supported the hypothesis that forgiveness is positively associated with indices of good health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Developed scales to measure forgiveness of others (FOO) and forgiveness of self (FOS) as part of an inventory to sample personality disorders. Based on the responses of 237 outpatient counseling clients, these scales have adequate internal consistency reliabilities and correlate with each other only .37. This suggests that although the scales are somewhat related, they are predominately sampling different classes of behavior. Deficits in FOO and FOS correlated significantly with several scales on the MMPI and with ratings done by therapists and peers. These deficits were related to increased amounts of psychopathology, such as depression, anxiety, and negative self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study focused on empathic and prosocial orientations in preschool children who vary in externalizing problems. Children were categorized as low, moderate, or high risk for developing disruptive behavior disorders, depending on severity of current behavior problems. Hypothetical and real encounters with others in distress were used to examine children's affect, behavior, autonomic activity, and social cognitions. When children witnessed someone in distress, empathic concern and prosocial behaviors were present at similar levels for all risk groups. However, moderate and high-risk children were less able than low-risk children to remain positively engaged with distress victims. Girls showed more prosocial behavior than boys, and boys showed more anger than girls. During sadness mood inductions to assess autonomic activity, risk groups did not differ on heart rate or vagal tone. Girls showed higher skin conductance than boys, with high-risk girls showing the highest levels. Higher heart rate (and heart rate deceleration) predicted empathic concern and prosocial behavior, whereas lower heart rate was associated with aggression and avoidance, irrespective of risk. Although biological correlates of emotions and behaviors that reflect caring versus indifference to others' distress are identified, they do not support an early direct link to externalizing psychopathologies.
The present study delineates a method for the quantification of six hemodynamic reactivity patterns, in response to a laboratory stressor, and examines the psychophysiological correlates of individual differences in these patterns. One hundred and ninety-four young adult men and women participated in rest periods and two laboratory stressors, mental arithmetic and an anger recall interview. Measures were taken of blood pressure, heart rate, and cardiac output, from which total peripheral resistance was derived, as well as state reports of feelings during the tasks. Six hemodynamic reactor patterns were identified: Non-reactors, Mild Myocardials, Mild Vasculars, Myocardials, Vasculars, and Dual Reactors, each associated with a unique profile of cardiac output and total peripheral resistance change. Myocardial reactors to the interview had the highest resting levels of blood pressure and total peripheral resistance. Dual reactors had the largest increases in diastolic reactivity; Dual and Myocardial reactors had the largest increases in systolic reactivity. The extreme reactor groups (Dual, Myocardial, Vascular) all reported greater task invigoration than the Non-reactors, who reported greater efforts to relax. Reactor groups were similar on anger-related trait affect. Based on both resting blood pressure and magnitude of task-induced reactivity, Myocardial and Dual reactors may be at the greatest risk for subsequent hypertension.
Relationships among dispositional forgiveness, potential mediating factors and health outcome variables were assessed. In 425 adults, 50–95 years of age, trait forgiveness was higher in women, in individuals older than 60, and in those who frequently attended church services. Trait forgiveness was associated with subjective well-being, depression, and stress. Forgiveness was associated with six dimensions of successful aging and with several potential mediators of health: healthy behaviors, social support, and spiritual well-being. Partial correlations indicated that all mediators played a role in the forgiveness – health relationships; however, forgiveness also made an independent contribution to psychological well-being. While the literature has focused more on the relationship of forgiveness to reduced negative affect, the present study indicates that its association with enhancement of experience, through existential well-being, personal relationships with others and personal growth, is even stronger.
Difficulties in predicting "real life" physiological variation from responses to controlled stress tasks suggest the need for more ecologically valid laboratory challenges. The Social Competence Interview (SCI) measures physiological changes elicited by re-experiencing a life situation in which a valued striving was unexpectedly hindered. The 14-minute interview yields data on subjects' goals, skills, problem-solving strategies, and social resources. We compared the SCI to video game (VG), mirror drawing (MD), and mental arithmetic (MA) in a racially balanced sample of 260 adolescents (age 14 to 15 years). Blood pressure changes during SCI exceeded those during the other tasks, and were unaffected by race or gender. Blood pressure responses to SCI correlated with responses to MA and MD but appeared to capture a unique domain of social reactivity. Test-retest correlations over 6 months in a random subsample of 27 subjects showed that blood pressure reactivity to SCI and other tasks was reproducible. Intrasubject analyses of responses to the different tasks disclosed subgroups of consistently high and consistently low responders who may be at higher or lower risk. The SCI is not threatening and was rated by subjects as less frustrating or demanding than MD or MA. Its demonstrated effectiveness when administered by several different interviewers suggests the SCI is a promising technique for large scale studies of younger populations.
Impedance cardiography was introduced over 20 years ago as a noninvasive and unobtrusive technique for measuring systolic time intervals and cardiac output. Although our understanding of the physiological events reflected in the impedance cardiogram has become more refined, the technique's theoretical basis remains somewhat controversial and acceptance of its validity has relied heavily upon empirical validation. Largely as a consequence of this status, there have been inadequate grounds on which to develop sound methodological standardization. Currently, the methodological approaches that have been most frequently adopted may be viewed as representing the standard. The various aspects of impedance methodology are discussed, and alternative approaches described, with the objective of providing an informed basis for choosing among these methodological alternatives. It is recommended that studies utilizing impedance cardiography should be reported with clear and detailed methodological description. This should help clarify the extent to which methodological differences may underlie any discrepant research observations, as well as facilitate the emergence of improved methodological standards.
A social cognitive developmental model of forgiveness is described and tested in two studies, the second being a replication of the first. In study 1, 59 subjects in grades 4, 7, 10, college and in adulthood were given a forgiveness interview that assessed six stages of forgiveness development, Rest's DIT measure of justice development, and a religiosity scale. As predicted, there were strong age trends for forgiveness and justice. Both forgiveness and justice were related but distinct constructs. The more one practiced one's faith, the higher one was in forgiveness stage. Study 2, with 60 subjects, replicated the above findings. The studies give strong evidence that people's understanding of forgiveness develops with age. Implications for adolescent development are drawn.
Brachial artery pressures determined by the oscillometric method were compared with simultaneous central aortic (Ao) pressure measurements in 30 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. Three simultaneous oscillometric and central Ao pressure readings were obtained in each patient. Central Ao pressures ranged widely for systolic (SP) (98 to 177 mm Hg), diastolic (DP) (41 to 97 mm Hg), and mean (MP) (60 to 120 mm Hg) pressure values. The mean percent errors (pressure difference divided by central Ao pressure) and "within subject" standard deviation were 1% and 3% for SP, 2% and 4% for DP, and -3% and 7% for MP. The percent error in oscillometric SP and DP estimates was not significantly influenced by cardiac index, systemic vascular resistance, heart rate, body surface area, or left ventricular ejection fraction. The oscillometric method provides accurate, reproducible, and convenient estimates of central Ao SP and DP and may be particularly useful when indirect blood pressure measurements are required for the noninvasive assessment of left ventricular function in patients without aortic stenosis.
To assess the influence of sex, race and parental history of hypertension on blood pressure and heart rate elevations during a stressor, and on the recovery of prestress baseline levels for these parameters.
Five hundred and thirty-seven university undergraduates underwent cardiovascular reactivity testing. A serial-subtraction task served as the stressor. Reactivity was assessed as the difference between baseline and during-task levels, and recovery as the difference between baseline and post-stress levels.
The influence of sex, race and parental history of hypertension on reactivity and recovery was assessed, using analysis of variance models.
No differences were found in reactivity for any of the factors. For recovery, a significant effect was found for parental history of hypertension on systolic blood pressure and a marginal effect on diastolic blood pressure. Post hoc tests revealed that values in groups with two hypertensive parents remained elevated at a significantly higher level than in offspring with either no or one hypertensive parent.
Parental history of hypertension may affect the duration of the blood pressure response to an acute stressor more than the magnitude of the response.
Similar mechanisms have been proposed to explain the stress-buffering effects of both dispositional optimism and perceived control. Yet dispositional optimism as a personal resource should function independently of situational control appraisals. To evaluate the unique and additive contributions to adaptation of control appraisals and optimism, we followed 49 individuals scheduled for coronary artery bypass surgery. One month before surgery dispositional optimism was associated with neither health locus of control nor specific expectancies about the outcomes of surgery. Dispositional optimism, however, was associated with perceived control over the course of the illness and with quality of life appraisals. Although presurgery optimism predicted life quality 8 months after surgery, this was not the case when general and specific control appraisals and specific expectancies were included in the prediction. These findings are discussed as they relate to current conceptions of trait optimism.
Recent research suggests that hostility might contribute to the development of coronary heart disease (CHD) and other illnesses. One potential mechanism linking hostility and health is exaggerated physiological reactivity to social stressors. Given that mistrust and suspiciousness are closely related to this trait, the self-disclosure of personal information regarding a stressful experience may elicit heightened reactivity in hostile persons. To evaluate this hypothesis, undergraduate men (N = 60) classified as high or low on the Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) Scale were randomly assigned to either a self-disclosure or a nondisclosure condition. Consistent with prediction, among subjects participating in the self-disclosure discussion task, hostile individuals displayed significantly greater blood pressure reactivity compared with subjects low in hostility. These results support the psychophysiological reactivity model of hostility and health, and underscore the potential importance of social context in the psychosomatic process.
Recent research has suggested that cardiovascular recovery from stress can play a potential role in hypertension pathogenesis. Sixty-nine studies were included in a meta-analytic review to evaluate the effect of various hypertension risk factors (e.g., race, lack of exercise) on cardiovascular recovery from stress. Small mean effect sizes were observed for studies examining hypertension status and race as risk factors associated with delayed diastolic blood pressure recovery. Lack of fitness was also associated with delayed heart rate recovery. These results revealed that, for the specified risk factors and cardiovascular variables, high-risk individuals exhibited delayed cardiovascular recovery as compared with low-risk individuals. Further, the relationships between hypertension status, race, and cardiovascular recovery were typically associated with the use of "active" laboratory stressors. The relationship between lack of fitness and cardiovascular recovery was also associated with the use of "active" and exercise laboratory stressors.
