Forgiveness, health, and well-being: a review of evidence for emotional versus decisional forgiveness, dispositional forgivingness, and reduced unforgiveness.
The extant data linking forgiveness to health and well-being point to the role of emotional forgiveness, particularly when it becomes a pattern in dispositional forgivingness. Both are important antagonists to the negative affect of unforgiveness and agonists for positive affect. One key distinction emerging in the literature is between decisional and emotional forgiveness. Decisional forgiveness is a behavioral intention to resist an unforgiving stance and to respond differently toward a transgressor. Emotional forgiveness is the replacement of negative unforgiving emotions with positive other-oriented emotions. Emotional forgiveness involves psychophysiological changes, and it has more direct health and well-being consequences. While some benefits of forgiveness and forgivingness emerge merely because they reduce unforgiveness, some benefits appear to be more forgiveness specific. We review research on peripheral and central nervous system correlates of forgiveness, as well as existing interventions to promote forgiveness within divergent health settings. Finally, we propose a research agenda.
Worthington
Everett L
EL
Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin, Box 842018, Richmond, VA 23284-2018, USA. eworth@vcu.edu
Witvliet
Charlotte Van Oyen
CV
Pietrini
Pietro
P
Miller
Andrea J
AJ
D000339:Affect; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease; D003657:Decision Making; D004569:Electroencephalography; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011603:Psychophysiology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior