Forgiveness and Personality: Traits That Predict Forgiveness

Introduction to Forgiveness

The impact that personality has on the ability to forgive has been a topic of much debate for many years. Many experts believe that certain personality traits can make an individual more susceptible to forgiveness. The purpose of this discussion is to examine whether or not any personality type seems to be more forgiving of self and others than other personality types. The investigation also explores the type of research that has been conducted and what is currently being studied in this subject area.

According to the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, forgiveness plays an important role in ensuring the mental stability of individuals. The journal reports that people who practice forgiveness are able to improve their well-being and have more meaningful interpersonal relationships. Much of the scientific literature pertaining to the subject of forgiveness indicates that practicing forgiveness can result in less guilt, anxiety, anger, and fear of remorse (Harrington et al., 2000). Harrington et al. (2000) also report that the positive impact of forgiveness can be found amongst large and diverse populations, ranging from incest survivors to the families of individuals who have been murdered.

Harrington et al. (2000) define forgiveness as involving "two people, one of whom has received a deep and long-lasting injury that is either psychological, emotional, physical, or moral in nature. [Forgiveness is] an inner process by which the person who has been injured releases himself or herself from the anger, resentment, and fear that are felt and does not wish for revenge."

The authors also describe forgiveness as a process that produces results over time. Over a period of time, the individual who has been injured experiences less anger and resentment towards the person who caused the injury (Harrington et al., 2000). An article in the journal Counseling and Values explains that forgiveness is not synonymous with forgetting, denying the injury, or condoning the offense (Chernoff et al., 2001). Whether or not the victim must feel love towards the perpetrator for forgiveness to take place remains a matter of debate (Harrington et al., 2000).

The journal also identifies four models of forgiveness: "(1) models based on psychological theories; (2) process models (the most prevalent) describing psychological tasks involved in the act of forgiving over a period of time; (3) models based on a moral development framework; and (4) typologies of forgiveness" (Harrington et al., 2000).

As this overview demonstrates, forgiveness is a complex and multifaceted process. An individual's ability to forgive can depend upon a number of factors. This discussion concentrates on those factors that are tied to personality traits, exploring various studies conducted on forgiveness and personality types, and explaining why certain traits predispose people to practice forgiveness.

A great deal of research has been conducted on the correlation between personality traits and forgiveness. According to an article in Current Directions in Psychological Science, these studies have identified both negative and positive correlations between personality types and forgiveness. The article asserts that the personality types most associated with forgiveness include agreeableness, emotional stability, and religiousness. Wade and Worthington (2003) agree with this assessment and also explain the traits that lead to unforgiveness:

"Dispositional traits, such as religiosity (McCullough et al., 1998; Worthington, Berry, & Parrott, 2001), trait empathy (Thoresen, Harris, & Luskin, 2000), agreeableness (McCullough & Worthington, 2000), and dispositional forgivingness (Berry & Worthington, 2001; Berry, Worthington, Parrott, O'Connor, & Wade, 2001), were theorized to relate to willingness to forgive transgressions across situations (Worthington & Wade, 1999). Trait anger (Spielberger, Jacobs, Russell, & Crane, 1983), shame-proneness (Tangney, 1995), and attachment style were hypothesized to be related to degrees of unforgiveness and forgiveness of a specific transgression." (Wade & Worthington, 2003)

Agreeableness: Empathy and Altruism

Agreeableness and empathy represent one of the most researched areas in the study of personality and forgiveness. McCullough (2001) contends that people with agreeable personality traits display characteristics such as altruism, care, generosity, and empathy. These personality traits make it easier for these individuals to forgive those who have caused them injury.

McCullough (2001) explains that "highly agreeable people tend to thrive in the interpersonal realm and experience less conflict in relationships than less agreeable people do. Trait theorists and researchers have long been aware that agreeable people typically are rated highly on descriptors such as 'forgiving' and low on descriptors such as 'vengeful.' Research specifically on the disposition to forgive has also confirmed the agreeableness-forgiveness association."

McCullough (2001) also asserts that agreeable people are more likely to be kind to people who have been rude to them, tend to have higher moral standards, and are less exploitative than individuals who are not forgiving.

Researchers have long maintained that the altruism and empathy traits displayed by agreeable people play a large role in their ability to forgive. McCullough et al. (1997) further assert that empathy results in a motivation to care for others. Their article discusses forgiveness as it pertains to close relationships, and the researchers found that:

"In the same way that empathy can facilitate caring for a person in need who was previously unknown to the actor, the emergence of empathy for an offending relationship partner can elicit the offended partner's capacity to care for the needs of the offending partner. In the context of a close relationship that has been damaged by the hurtful actions of one relationship partner, this empathy-elicited caring may be directed at three foci. First, empathy may cause the offended partner to care that the offending partner is experiencing guilt and distress over how his or her actions hurt the offended partner and damaged their relationship (Baumeister, Stillwell, & Heatherton, 1994). Second, empathy may cause the offended partner to care that the offending partner feels isolated or lonely because of their estranged relationship. Third, and perhaps most directly, empathy for the offending relationship partner may simply lead the offended relationship partner to care about restoring the breached relationship with the offending partner. In other words, empathy may lead to a yearning for restored positive contact with the offender." (McCullough et al., 1997)

These three reactions lessen the impact of a harmful action, making it less likely that the injured party will seek revenge and reducing the possibility that the parties involved will become estranged (McCullough et al., 1997). If the injured party holds an empathetic attitude, he or she is more likely to attempt to reconcile the situation and be more understanding towards the offending partner (McCullough et al., 1997).

Chernoff et al. (2001) discuss empathy and forgiveness as they relate to guilt-prone individuals. The authors suggest that "guilt-prone individuals adopt more proactive and constructive strategies for managing anger (Baumeister, Stillwell, & Heatherton, 1994; Tangney, 1991, 1995; Tangney et al., 1999). They are more likely to engage in constructive behaviors, such as nonhostile discussion with the target of their anger and in empathic connection (Tangney, 1994). According to Tangney et al. (1999), forgiveness of others is positively correlated with other-oriented empathy and an adaptive guilt-prone style. Individuals more inclined to forgive are less prone to problematic shame reactions and 'self-oriented' empathic distress." (Chernoff et al., 2001)

Chernoff et al. (2001) discuss a study in which 148 graduate students from a large urban college participated. The participants were given the Enright Forgiveness Inventory, a 60-item scale designed to measure the degree to which a person can forgive an offender. Each participant recalled an event that hurt them deeply and rated it on a scale of 1 to 10, with the event required to be at least a 7, where 10 represented the most severe hurt.

The study revealed that "individuals who scored high in Empathetic Concern and Perspective Taking also scored high in their ability to forgive. Empathy for the perpetrator was significant in fostering constructive relationship-restoring responses, in contrast to engagement in destructive retaliatory behavior." (Chernoff et al., 2001)

McCullough et al. (1997) also contend that forgiveness is not only dependent upon personality, but also upon relationship factors and the nature of the offense. These factors influence whether or not the offended party will develop empathetic feelings at all. The article notes that "the offended partner's dispositional empathy appears to be weakly related to the degree to which people forgive relationship partners who have hurt them. However, global personality factors such as dispositional empathy might be weak determinants of forgiving, because they must be translated into empathy for a specific person in a specific situation. Thus situational and relationship factors could be more important determinants of whether and how empathy develops. The severity of the offense and the degree to which the offender apologizes for his or her behavior, for example, might be crucial." (McCullough et al., 1997)

McCullough et al. (1997) insist that various relationship factors can influence an individual's capacity to be empathetic, and that regardless of how empathy forms, once it exists at a certain level it has the ability to overshadow the injury that has been caused and allows the individual to forgive.

Empathetic people are, in a sense, compelled to forgive because of the relational atmosphere that empathy creates. Agreeableness is key to forgiving and reconciling without further damage; if a person has an agreeable personality, he or she is also more likely to be empathetic and capable of forgiveness.

Emotional Stability and Forgiveness

Another personality group that tends to have a disposition towards forgiveness is the emotionally stable. McCullough (2001) contends that people who are emotionally stable have a decreased vulnerability to experiences of negative emotions. Emotionally stable personalities are usually less sensitive and less likely to have mood swings (McCullough, 2001).

In other words, people who are emotionally stable are less likely to be offended in the first place; they tend not to take things personally. Therefore, if someone is rude to them or causes them injury, they are less likely to internalize the offense. Instead, they tend to believe that the offender is behaving rudely because of something wrong with the offender, not because of something wrong with themselves. Because of this reaction, the emotionally stable person is more willing to forgive and can actively practice forgiveness.

Notably, the relationship between forgiveness and emotional stability appears to be reciprocal: the more forgiving a person is, the more emotionally stable he or she tends to become. As noted previously, people who are forgiving experience less anger and anxiety, and a decrease in these states in turn increases the ability to function and maintain emotional stability.