An examination of emotional empathy, attributions of stability, and the link between perceived remorse and forgiveness

Sincere apologies can motivate forgiveness; however, there are differing theoretical perspectives on the mechanism by which this occurs. The empathy model of forgiveness suggests empathy mediates the link between apologies and forgiveness. Alternatively, attribution theory suggests that the apology–forgiveness link is best explained by attributions of behavioral stability. The empathy and attribution models both receive considerable empirical support; however, they remain relatively independent within the literature and the relationship between these mechanisms is thus far unexamined. Within interpersonal romantic relationships, we test a model of apologies and forgiveness that focuses on perceived remorse and integrates these two theoretical perspectives. We test the primary hypothesis that perceived remorse influences attributions of behavioral stability, which in turn influences forgiveness both directly and indirectly via empathy. Results from a path analysis suggest increases in perceived remorse decreased attributions of behavioral stability and increased empathy and forgiveness. Attributions of stability mediated the effect of remorse on empathy, and empathy mediated the effect of attributions of stability on forgiveness. These data establish a relationship between attributions of stability and emotional empathy perspectives and suggest an integrated model of apologies, remorse and forgiveness. 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.