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Forgiveness and Flourishingat the Intersection ofSpirituality and Science

Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, Ph.D.

15 years ago:

The JTF issued a Request for Proposals on the

Scientific Study of the Subject of Forgiveness

Output

Has the Templeton RFP beenassociated with a significant rise inscholarly output on forgiveness?

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PsycINFO database publications on forgiveness

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Templeton Forgiveness RFP

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Templeton Forgiveness RFP

Cumulative 3043 results

PsycINFO forgiv* Articles: Peer-Reviewed & Research Methodology

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Peer-Reviewed PsychologyResearch


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Psychology Dissertations

PsycINFO Dissertations on forgiv*

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Psychology Book Titles

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PsycINFO forgiv* AND spiritual*

PsycINFO forgiv* AND spiritual* results

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Work that connects forgiveness toother values and virtues

Love

Humility

Openness to God

Gratitude

Creativity

Freedom

Purpose

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Love Hum ili ty God Gra ti tu de Creativi ty Free dom Purp os e

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Medical Database SourcesMedLine Sources with forgiv*

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Outcomes

Has the Templeton RFP beenassociated with a significant rise inavailable forgiveness resources?

Largest Worldwide Library Catalog -

Book Titles with forgiv*

WorldCat Book Titles

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Largest Worldwide Library Visual Materials with forgiv*

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Percent of words in allelectronically searchable books:

forgive

Search in Google

Templeton RFP

Outcomes

Has the Templeton RFP beenassociated with work thattranscends boundaries?

International Forgiveness Research

Examples

Arab Israeli adolescents in Israel

Iranian marriages

Iraqi refugees

Lebanese Muslims and Christians, andFrench Christians

Work in China, Cyprus, Portugal, France,Nepal, Northern Ireland, Philippines,Rwanda.


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Interdisciplinary Scholarship

Theology

Philosophy Political Science

Psychological science

Psychology and counseling professions

Medicine

Impact

Is the topic of forgivenessmore

present in the public square?

Newspaper Sources

INFOTRAC News Stand Sources with forgiv*

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Impact

Is forgivenessmore widely addressed in thepublic square as a positive

virtue?

*Funded by JTF & Fetzer Institute*Funded by Fetzer Institute

The rise of documentaries


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Fetzer funded PBS Stations &Community Agency Partnerships;Classroom Conversation Guides,Podcasts, Library Partnerships

*Funded by Fetzer Institute*Funded by JTF & Fetzer Institute

Impact

Has the Templeton RFP beenassociated with a shift in the

cultural content of conversationsabout forgiveness?

Pre-1997 RFP:religious conversations

Your faith calls you to forgive. How do youdo that?


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Pre-1997 RFP:

religious conversationsYour faith calls you to forgive. How do you do that?

- resist hate, bitterness, revenge-seeking

- let it go

- turn it over to God

- reconcile

- emphasize mercy, not justice

Cultural criticism: forgive = doormat

People who forgive lack self-respect, good judgment,control, and put themselves at risk of harm.

Pre-Post shifts in Cultural

Conversations

From forgive & forget

TO forgive & rememberremember truthfully andwith the desire for the offender to be positively transformed

From either justice or forgivenessTO both justice and forgiveness

From forgiveness makes you a doormatTO genuine forgiveness is a sign of strength

From forgiveness is for religious peopleTO forgiveness is for anyone

Pre-Post shifts in CulturalConversations

From forgiveness is spiritual

TO forgiveness is spiritual and physically embodied

From forgiveness is for the benefit of the offender (religious)

TO forgiveness benefits the one forgiven, the forgiver, and others

From forgiveness is for the benefit of the self (secular)

TO forgiveness benefits the one forgiven, the forgiver, and others

From forgiveness and reconciliation

TO forgiveness even when reconciliation is not possible, safe, orwise

Pre-Post shifts in CulturalConversations

From forgiveness means going back to the way things wereTO forgiveness creates a new future that integrates the past

From Divine forgiveness and interpersonal forgivenessTO Divine forgiveness, interpersonal forgiveness, self-

forgiveness, and resolving anger with God

From forgiveness is a responseTO forgiveness is a response and can be a personality trait

From seeing forgiveness as one thing

TO seeing forgiveness as multifaceted, in context

Features of forgiveness

Forgiveness is a moral response to relational injustice

Forgiveness overcomes hostility, avoidance, andresponses that diminish the offender

AND forgiveness gives goodwill, compassion, lovethat seeks the offenders positive transformation

WHILE holding the offender responsible (justice)

AND forgiveness can be genuine even ifreconciliation is not possible, safe, or wise

What spiritual progress has beenmade?

Forgiveness can promotes human flourishing

Forgiveness can saves lives

Forgiveness can contribute to relational repair

Forgiveness can positively affects otherrelationships


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Important investigations for

forgiveness and spiritual progress

Top research articles since the JTF RFP bycitation impact:

Top cited empirical research

papers (since JTF initiative)

1) McCullough, M. E., Rachal, K. C., Sandage, S. J.,

Worthington, E. L., Brown, S. W., & Hight, T. L. (1998).Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships: II. Theoreticalelaboration and measurement. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 75(6), 1586-1603.

407 other PsycINFO sources cite this

Developed the TRIM, a measure of unforgiveness (revengeand avoidance), later adapted to also measure forgiveness(benevolence).

Significant roles of empathy, rumination, apology, and priorrelationship closeness

Top cited empirical researchpapers (since JTF initiative)

2) Aquino, K., Tripp, T. M., & Bies, R. J. (2006). Getting even ormoving on? Power, procedural justice, and types of offenseas predictors of revenge, forgiveness, reconciliation, andavoidance in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology,91(3), 653-668.


Emphasis on justice as important for limiting revenge andpromoting forgiveness in high status workers.


3) Witvliet, C. V. O., Ludwig, T. E., & Vander Laan, K. L. (2001).Granting forgiveness or harboring grudges: Implications foremotion, physiology, and health. Psychological Science,12(2), 117-123.


Forgiveness factors are embodied in physiological reactions.

Constructs of rumination, revenge, empathy, and forgivenessas both letting go of the negative and as giving goodwill.

Experimental methodology: reliable differences between

unforgiving and forgiving responses; and across verbal andphysical variables: blood pressure, heart rate, sweat, facialmuscles


4) Finkel, E. J., Rusbult, C. E., Kumashiro, M., & Hannon, P. A.(2002). Dealing with betrayal in close relationships: Doescommitment promote forgiveness? Journal of Personalityand Social Psychology, 82(6), 956-974.


Significant role of relationship commitment (not self-orientation)

Top cited research papers(since JTF initiative)

5) McCullough, M. E., Bellah, C. G., Kilpatrick, S. D., &Johnson, J. L. (2001). Vengefulness: Relationships withforgiveness, rumination, well-being, and the big five.

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(5), 601-610.


Personality variables important (especially agreeableness,also neuroticism)


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Important development in research

forgiveness

from descriptive to experimental research

from cross-sectional to longitudinal follow-up

from novel findings to replicated results

from qualitative summaries to meta-analyses

Key Research Studies:

Meta-Analyses

Wade, Worthington, & Meyer (2005). But do theywork? A meta-analysis of group interventions topromote forgiveness. (Handbook of forgiveness)

Effective transformation:

*explicit focus on forgiveness (not general)

*role of empathy for transgressor

*theoretically grounded, full interventions (not partial)

*time spent matters: 4-6 hours of forgivenessintervention (dose-response relationship)

Key Research Studies

Baskin, T. W., & Enright, R. D. (2004). Interventionstudies on forgiveness: A meta-analysis. Journalof Counseling & Development, 82(1), 79-90.

decision-based interventions: not effective,

process-based group interventions: significant effects,

process-based individual interventions: significant andlarge effects.


Lundahl, B. W., Taylor, M. J., Stevenson, R., & Roberts,K. D. (2008). Process-based forgiveness interventions:A meta-analytic review. Research on Social WorkPractice, 18(5), 465-478.

forgiveness interventions (vs. comparison group)

* increase forgiveness,

* increased positive affect, self-esteem

* decreased negative affect

* individual interventions superior to group interventions.


Fehr, R., Gelfand, M. J., & Nag, M. (2010).The road to forgiveness: A meta-analyticsynthesis of its situational and dispositionalcorrelates. Psychological Bulletin, 136(5),

894-914.

Cognitive

Affective

Constraints


Fehr, R., Gelfand, M. J., & Nag, M. (2010). The road toforgiveness: A meta-analytic synthesis of its situational anddispositional correlates. Psychological Bulletin, 136(5), 894-914.

No significant relationship to forgiveness:positive mood, self-esteem, gender, time since offense

Very small effects:social desireability, age

Small effects:severity of the harm, relationship closeness, relationshipcommitment, negative mood, depression, neuroticpersonality, angry personality, empathic personality,general religiosity


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Fehr, R., Gelfand, M. J., & Nag, M. (2010). The road toforgiveness: A meta-analytic synthesis of its situational and

dispositional correlates. Psychological Bulletin, 136(5), 894-914.

Cognitive

-Medium effects:transgressors intent, apology, responsibility

victims satisfaction in the relationship with the transgressor

victims rumination

Affective

-Medium Effect: victims state anger

-Strong Effect: victims state empathy for the offender


What about religious factors?

Fehr et al. (2010) in Psychological BulletinWhen general religiosity is aggregated, it has a small yetreliable effect

Wade et al. (2008) in Journal of Psychology and Christianity

Religious commitment (for Christians only) predicted traitforgivingness, which mediated the relationship with lowerrumination, lower revenge.

Lambert, Fincham, Stillman, Graham, & Beach (2010) inPsychological Science Praying for a relationship partnerfacilitated forgiving that partner.


Example of Longitudinal Research Braithwaite, S.R., Selby, E.A., & Fincham, F.D. (2011).

Forgiveness and relationship satisfaction: Mediatingmechanism. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 551-559.

Forgiveness predicted relationship self-regulationand low negative interpersonal tactics, and thesepredicted relationship satisfaction.

Note: several studies show that in negativerelationships, forgiveness can be associated with anincrease in later mistreatment. Justice matters.

Important investigation of my own

Witvliet, C. V.O., Knoll, R. W., Hinman, N. G., & DeYoung,P. A. (2010).

Compassion-focused reappraisal, benefit-focusedreappraisal, and rumination after an interpersonal offense:Emotion-regulation implications for subjective emotion,linguistic responses, and physiology.

The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(3), 226-242.

Offense RuminationMental rehearsal focused on the offender, the

hurtful offense, and its consequences.

Compared to Offense Reappraisal

Remains focused on the offense, but with a newperspective

Compassion Focus other-oriented, focused on giving

Benefits Focus self-oriented, focused on receiving

Offense Reappraisal

Reappraisal remains focused on the offense, butwith a new perspective

Compassion Focus

other-oriented, focused on giving

Benefits Focus

self-oriented, focused on receiving


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Compassion-Focused Reappraisal

focus on the humanity of the offender,

see transgression as evidence of the offendersclear need for positive transformation,and genuinely wish him or her well.

Does not overlook or minimize the offense.

Benefit-Focused Reappraisal

focus on insights gained, strengths shown, orlessons learned through the difficult experience

Is not masochistic, and does not overlook the costs.

Experiment

Participants 38 Females, 33 Males

Within-subjects repeated measures design

Every participant completed every condition

Participants randomly assigned to one of two

condition orders

Both Compassion-Focused and Benefit-Focused

Reappraisals Reduced Arousal and Negative Emotion

Compared to Offense Rumination

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Of f ens e C Comp as sio n- Fo cus Of f en se B Bene fit -Foc us

Both Compassion-Focused and Benefit-Focused Reappraisal

Increased Positive Emotion Compared to Offense Rumination

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Neg/Pos Valence Happiness Joy Peace Control

AverageRatings(1-7Scale)

O ff en se ( C) C om pa ss io n- Fo cu s O ff en se ( B) B en efi t- Fo cu s

Both Compassion-Focused and Benefit-Focused Reappraisal

Increased Prosocial and Moral Emotions

Compared to Offense Rumination

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E mpathy E moti onal Forgiveness Grati tude

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Offense (C) Compassion-Focus Offense (B) Benefi t -Focus


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Compassion and Benefit-Focused Reappraisal

Decreased Negative Language Compared to Offense

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Compassion-Focused and Benefit-Focused Reappraisals

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and Benefit-Focus Decreased Them

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Only Benefit-Focused Reappraisal Increased Zygomatic EMG (Smiling)

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Only Compassion-Focused Reappraisal Calmed the Cardiac Cycle

(R-R Intervals, inverted)

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Only Benefit-Focused ReappraisalImproved Parasympathetic Nervous System Activity

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O ffense (C) Com passion O ffense (B) Benefit-Focus

Compared to rumination

Both Compassion-Focused and Benefit-Focused Reappraisals:

decreased negative emotions

Ratings

Writing

Facial brow muscle

increased positive, moral emotions

Ratings Writing

Compassion unique effects

stimulated the highest empathy ratings

prompted the most forgiving and sociallanguage

calmed eye muscle (orbicularis oculi)

EMG

calmed cardiac R-R intervals

Benefit-Focus unique effects

highest gratitude and joy ratings

highest gratitude language

reduced social language increased zygomaticsmile EMG at the cheek

activated the parasympathetic nervoussystem

and

Compassion-focused reappraisal promoted forgiveness,and also gratitude.

Benefit-focused reappraisal promoted gratitude,and also forgiveness.

Both reappraisal strategies are positive antidotes torumination


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Spiritual foundations

Biblical Texts

Worship

Theology

While forgiveness ends redemptively, it begins with thefrank acknowledgment of relational brokenness--andthus resists sentimental ways of ignoring or sugar-coating this reality

Psalm 51

1 Have pity on me, O God, in keeping with your mercy.In keeping with your unlimited compassion, wipe out my rebellious acts.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my guilt,and cleanse me from my sin.

3 I admi t that I am rebell ious.My sin is always in front of me.

4 I have sinned against you, especially you.I have done what you consider evil.

So you hand down justice when you speak,

and you are blameless when you judge.

10 Create a clean heart in me, O God,and renew a faithful spirit within me.

11 Do not force me away from your presence,and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience.

13 Then I will teach your ways to those who are rebellious,and sinners will return to you.

14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,O God, my savior.

Let my tongue sing joyfully about your righteousness!15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will tell about your praise.16 You are not happy with any sacrifice.

Otherwise, I would offer one to you.You are not pleased with burnt offerings.17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.

O God, you do not despise a broken and sorrowful heart.

Ephesians 4:32 ~ Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving eachother, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Colossians 3:13 ~ Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances youmay have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Matthew 18: 21-22 ~ Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, if another memberof the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seventimes? Jesus said to him, Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

Worship

Baptism

Communion

The Lords Prayer

Confession & Assurance of Pardon

Justice and forgiveness are both rooted inGods character of love.

Themes that promote forgiveness:

-Seeing people as bearing the image of God

-Seeing our need for forgiveness

Forgivenessa Jewish perspective

Louis Newman, Ph.D., the Musser Professor of Religious Studies,

Director, Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, Carleton College

View 1 = Justice Primary in legalistic forgiveness If offender takes appropriate steps (e.g., payment of damages) and explicitly

asks for forgiveness (ordinarily 3x), then forgiveness is a required response. Sees unconditional forgiveness as undermining the repentance of transgressor(Note: research by Finkel, Luchies, McNulty in this vein)

View 2 Mercy Primary in visionary forgiveness Forgiveness offered freely, unconditionally, generously, emphasis on

compassion, role of prayer Imitatio Dei we imitate God, agents of Gods love and compassion in the world,

humility in morality and mortality Meets offender half way in granting a gift that invites the offender into a different

moral realm


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Forgivenessa Muslim perspective

Anas Malik, Ph.D., Political Science, Assoc. Prof. at Xavier University

Normative teachings in Islam: Divine is All-Merciful, Giver of Mercy, Forgiving One, the Kind The believing Muslim is to reflect Divine attributes

Muslim Christian A Common Word Between Uswww.acommonword.com People of the Book, Abrahamic traditions Consensus letter from Muslim scholars to Christian leaders, with

responses Path-breaking, reset, signals trust-building *Love God *Love your neighbor Move from document to social practices of peace and harmony based

on these commandments

Future Spiritual Progress:

Build on momentum for the deep work of forgiveness thatbuilds enduring shalom

-overcome the egoistic, superficial, individualistic versions-forgiveness is moral response to relational injustice-realize that affective, mental health, and physiologicalbenefits are side-effects of forgiveness


Focus on the relational role of interpersonal forgiveness --develop more sophisticated research paradigms to studyboth parties

Research with understudied populations:children, cognitively impaired, best practices in educationalsettings

Increased focus on understanding the offender role andpromoting deep transformation

Integrating work on forgiveness-seeking, confession,apology, restitution, repentance

Develop work on how to receive forgiveness graciously


Practice: Identify best people in each tradition andprofession to train clergy, spiritual directors, and counselorsin

the vital roles of justice and compassion, of repentanceand reconciliation

effective interventions that transform hearts, minds,relationships

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