Intergroup Forgiveness: East Timorese and Angolan Perspectives

Abstract

The present study is a survey on intergroup forgiveness conducted among people from East Timor and Angola, most of whom have been personally touched by the various conflicts affecting their countries. Only one of the two aspects of intergroup forgiveness was assessed: granting forgiveness. A sample of 354 East Timorese adults was presented with a questionnaire addressing the meaningfulness of intergroup forgiveness and possible conceptions about granting intergroup forgiveness. Using exploratory factor analysis, an eight-factor model was derived from the participants' responses. Using confirmatory factor analysis, this model was subsequently tested on a sample of 250 Angolan adults. In both samples, a large majority of participants agreed with the idea that a group of people can forgive another group of people. Furthermore, the model derived from the East Timorese data also fitted the data from the Angolan sample: in both samples, the participants appeared to have articulated conceptions on what could define an intergroup granting of forgiveness. Specifically, a majority of participants agreed with the idea that (a) the aim of this process is reconciliation and that intergroup forgiveness is not strictly conditional on adequate reparation or compensation, and (b) this process must be democratic; in other words, granting forgiveness should be decided by a majority, and only then could forgiveness be granted on behalf of the whole community.

Do we forgive physical aggression in the same way that we forgive psychological aggression?

“…It will also be important to examine the impact of these dimensions in situations involving material and financial aggressions: robbery of possessions and money, non-restitution of loans and objects, and deliberate shattering of common business projects. It will finally be important to gather information about group aggression [Neto et al, 2004;Staub, 2000;Staub and Pearlman, 2001] and organizational aggression (e.g. abusive lay-off) [Skarlicki and Folger, 1997].…”

The granting of forgiveness in an intergroup context: African and Asian social representations

“…That is why empirical studies on intergroup forgiveness have been difficult to formulate, and possibly why research proposals have not been readily funded, despite the fact that the universality of forgiveness has been amply demonstrated Paz, Neto & Mullet, 2007Suwartono, Prawasti & Mullet, 2007). Neto, Pinto & Mullet (2007a have examined the social representations that East Timorese, Angolan and Guinean adults who have survived the many conflicts that took place in their countries may have about intergroup forgiveness (for a general review on social representations, see Moscovici, 2000). In the East Timor sample, a large majority of participants agreed that the granting of forgiveness in an intergroup context was conceivable.…”

Estimating One's Own and One's Relatives' Multiple Intelligence: A Cross-Cultural Study from East Timor and Portugal

“…East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, a local Austronesian language. The culture of East Timor reflects numerous cultural influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic and Malay, on the indigenous Austronesian cultures of Timor (Neto, Pinto, & Mullet, 2007a). Timorese also represent a significantly underserved population: empirical studies and applied articles related to Timorese culture are few (Neto, Pinto, & Mullet, 2007b).…”