How voluntariness of apologies affects actual and hypothetical victims' perceptions of the offender.
Apologies are important in social interactions. Study 1 investigated participants' reactions after being insulted by a confederate and receiving no apology, a voluntary apology, a coerced apology with consequences (i.e., explicitly coerced apology), or a coerced apology without consequences (i.e., implicitly coerced apology). Receiving any apology produced more positive perceptions of the offender and less serious recommended punishments than no apology. Study 2 replicated Study 1, except participants read about the insult and imagined being a victim (instead of being an actual victim as in Study 1). Actual victims distinguished between types of apologies while hypothetical victims did not. Results have implications for court-ordered apologies.
R&D Strategic Solutions, New York, NY 10019, USA. alaynajehle@yahoo.com
Alayna
A
Jehle
Monica K
MK
Miller
Markus
M
Kemmelmeier
Jonathan
J
Maskaly
D000293:Adolescent; D003068:Coercion; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D061347:Forgiveness; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D017008:Negotiating; D011678:Punishment; D012933:Social Identification; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult