How do I pardon thee?: The effects of relationship type, account type, and gender on offence-specific forgiveness

Abstract We employed a Bayesian analysis to compare offence-specific forgiveness in supportive versus ambivalent relationships. We also investigated offender accounts to assess their effect on forgiveness. Participants (283 total, 171 female) read a hypothetical scenario wherein an offender from a supportive or ambivalent relationship transgressed against them. The offender then offered a mitigating (i.e., concession or excuse) or an aggravating (i.e., justification or refusal) account for their behaviour. As predicted, an ambivalent offender received less forgiveness than a supportive offender, and mitigating accounts produced more forgiveness than aggravating accounts. These results suggest that the positive aspects of an ambivalent relationship are not substantial enough to negate the negative aspects of the relationship, which results in less forgiveness being offered to an offender, independent of the type of account offered for the offense.