Abstract
The authors examined the effects of writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression on forgiveness. Participants (N = 304) were randomly assigned to one of three 20-min writing tasks in which they wrote about either (a) traumatic features of the most recent interpersonal transgression they had suffered, (b) personal benefits resulting from the transgression, or (c) a control topic that was unrelated to the transgression. Participants in the benefit-finding condition became more forgiving toward their transgressors than did those in the other 2 conditions, who did not differ from each other. In part, the benefit-finding condition appeared to facilitate forgiveness by encouraging participants to engage in cognitive processing as they wrote their essays. Results suggest that benefit finding may be a unique and useful addition to efforts to help people forgive interpersonal transgressions through structured interventions. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory-18-Item Version (TRIM-18) is appended.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 887-897 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |
| Volume | 74 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1 2006 |
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Keywords
- Benefit finding
- Forgiveness
- LIWC
- Meaning
- TRIM
- Writing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Clinical Psychology
Cite this
Writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression facilitates forgiveness. / McCullough, Michael; Root, Lindsey M.; Cohen, Adam D.
In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 74, No. 5, 01.10.2006, p. 887-897.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression facilitates forgiveness
AU - McCullough, Michael
AU - Root, Lindsey M.
AU - Cohen, Adam D.
PY - 2006/10/1
Y1 - 2006/10/1
N2 - The authors examined the effects of writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression on forgiveness. Participants (N = 304) were randomly assigned to one of three 20-min writing tasks in which they wrote about either (a) traumatic features of the most recent interpersonal transgression they had suffered, (b) personal benefits resulting from the transgression, or (c) a control topic that was unrelated to the transgression. Participants in the benefit-finding condition became more forgiving toward their transgressors than did those in the other 2 conditions, who did not differ from each other. In part, the benefit-finding condition appeared to facilitate forgiveness by encouraging participants to engage in cognitive processing as they wrote their essays. Results suggest that benefit finding may be a unique and useful addition to efforts to help people forgive interpersonal transgressions through structured interventions. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory-18-Item Version (TRIM-18) is appended.
AB - The authors examined the effects of writing about the benefits of an interpersonal transgression on forgiveness. Participants (N = 304) were randomly assigned to one of three 20-min writing tasks in which they wrote about either (a) traumatic features of the most recent interpersonal transgression they had suffered, (b) personal benefits resulting from the transgression, or (c) a control topic that was unrelated to the transgression. Participants in the benefit-finding condition became more forgiving toward their transgressors than did those in the other 2 conditions, who did not differ from each other. In part, the benefit-finding condition appeared to facilitate forgiveness by encouraging participants to engage in cognitive processing as they wrote their essays. Results suggest that benefit finding may be a unique and useful addition to efforts to help people forgive interpersonal transgressions through structured interventions. The Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory-18-Item Version (TRIM-18) is appended.
KW - Benefit finding
KW - Forgiveness
KW - LIWC
KW - Meaning
KW - TRIM
KW - Writing
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33749622735&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.887
DO - 10.1037/0022-006X.74.5.887
M3 - Article
C2 - 17032093
AN - SCOPUS:33749622735
VL - 74
SP - 887
EP - 897
JO - Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
JF - Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
SN - 0022-006X
IS - 5
ER -