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Three studies, using diverse methodologies and measures, were conducted to examine the role that the regulatory focus of an injured party and of a transgressor (E. T. Higgins, 1997, 2000) plays in explaining the relationship between repentance and forgiveness. The authors predicted that when a victim's regulatory focus (i.e., promotion vs. prevention) was congruent (i.e., fit) with the regulatory focus of a transgressor's repentance (i.e., promotion vs. prevention), there would be greater forgiveness compared with when there was incongruence (i.e., mismatch). Three studies supported these predictions. The results also confirmed one potential explanation for why apologies are not always successful at eliciting forgiveness, namely, feeling right. This research suggests that regulatory focus theory can help inform the scientific study of forgiveness and its related processes.

This research focuses on one potential mechanism by which repentance leads to forgiveness. Two studies demonstrate that repentance leads to increased perceptual validation (social verification that one is correct about one's interpretation of an event) and, ultimately, more forgiveness. Participants reported more perceptual validation when they received repentance than when they did not (Studies 1 and 2), particularly repentance that included an acknowledgement of the transgression and the harm done (Study 2). In addition, in Study 2, acknowledgement of the transgression by a third party also had a positive effect on forgiveness. There was evidence that perceptual validation mediated the repentance-forgiveness relationship. These findings suggest that repentance facilitates forgiveness, at least in part, because it makes victims feel validated.

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