Willingness to Forgive Varying Degrees of Betrayal Committed by a Friend or Romantic Partner
Poster Number
087
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Faculty Mentor
Tara J. Collins, Ph.D.
Abstract
Interpersonal forgiveness has been found to be directly correlated with a person’s desire to continue a relationship. The goal of this study was to examine any differences in forgiving friends and romantic partners of different betrayals. We hypothesized that people would be more willing and motivated to forgive a romantic partner over a friend and that people would have a harder time forgiving someone for a higher level of betrayal versus a lower level of betrayal. We had 114 college students complete an online questionnaire that contained two scenarios that were randomly assigned to be about a friend or romantic partner. Participants answered questions about each scenario that measured their willingness and motivations to forgive. Next, they answered questions that measured for their likelihood to forgive, which was used as a covariate in our analysis. We found a marginally significant difference with participants being more willing to forgive a friend than a significant other. There was also a significant difference with participants being more extrinsically motivated to forgive a friend than a significant other and a significant difference in participants being more willing to forgive for a low betrayal versus a high betrayal. These findings suggest that individuals are more extrinsically motivated within a high betrayal scenario and more willing in a low betrayal scenario to forgive a friend over a significant other. In future research, older individuals need to be included who have been in relationships, both romantic and platonic, for a longer amount of time.
Course Assignment
PSYC 302- Collins
Previously Presented/Performed?
Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) Annual Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 2018
Start Date
20-4-2018 2:15 PM
End Date
20-4-2018 4:15 PM
Willingness to Forgive Varying Degrees of Betrayal Committed by a Friend or Romantic Partner
Richardson Ballroom (DIGS)
Interpersonal forgiveness has been found to be directly correlated with a person’s desire to continue a relationship. The goal of this study was to examine any differences in forgiving friends and romantic partners of different betrayals. We hypothesized that people would be more willing and motivated to forgive a romantic partner over a friend and that people would have a harder time forgiving someone for a higher level of betrayal versus a lower level of betrayal. We had 114 college students complete an online questionnaire that contained two scenarios that were randomly assigned to be about a friend or romantic partner. Participants answered questions about each scenario that measured their willingness and motivations to forgive. Next, they answered questions that measured for their likelihood to forgive, which was used as a covariate in our analysis. We found a marginally significant difference with participants being more willing to forgive a friend than a significant other. There was also a significant difference with participants being more extrinsically motivated to forgive a friend than a significant other and a significant difference in participants being more willing to forgive for a low betrayal versus a high betrayal. These findings suggest that individuals are more extrinsically motivated within a high betrayal scenario and more willing in a low betrayal scenario to forgive a friend over a significant other. In future research, older individuals need to be included who have been in relationships, both romantic and platonic, for a longer amount of time.
