Paper Title

Expressing forgiveness and repentance: Benefits and barriers

Authors

Profile picture of Roy F. Baumeister
Roy F. Baumeister
Profile picture of JULIE JUOLA EXLINE
JULIE JUOLA EXLINE

Keywords

  • Forgiveness
  • Repentance
  • Psychological Research
  • Benefits
  • Barriers
  • Expressing Forgiveness
  • Expressing Repentance
  • Psychological Theory
  • Risk Factors
  • Constructive Expression
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis
  • Social Relationships
  • Reluctance
  • Decision-Making
  • Emotional Expression

Journal

Forgiveness: Theory, Research and practice External link

Publication Info

| Pages: 133–155

Published On

March, 2000

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Abstract

Outlines some of the difficult decisions that people can face when deciding whether to communicate forgiveness or repentance to one another. The article first highlights some major benefits of expressing forgiveness and repentance. Then it draws on psychological research and theory to pinpoint some risks that might make people reluctant to engage in these actions, and offers predictions about conditions likely to heighten these risks. Finally, the article uses this cost-benefit analysis to suggest some factors likely to foster the constructive expression of repentance and forgiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

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