Personality traits as predictors of forgiveness and gratitude/awe: a two-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

Cross-sectional studies have shown that individual differences can be associated with pro-social emotions. However, little is known about how personality may predict subsequent forgiveness and gratitude/awe. This study investigates the longitudinal influence of the Big Five traits (assessed by the Ten-Item Personality Inventory), supplemented by narcissism (assessed by the Single Item Narcissism Scale), on decisional and emotional forgiveness (assessed by the Decisional and Emotional Forgiveness Scales), as well as gratitude/awe (assessed by the Gratitude/Awe Questionnaire). Data were gathered from 292 respondents (64% women) from Poland who completed questionnaires at Time 1 (T1) and 6 months later at Time 2 (T2). Structural equation modelling showed that agreeableness at T1 positively predicted decisional forgiveness at T2; extraversion at T1 and emotional stability at T1 positively predicted emotional forgiveness at T2; and openness at T1 positively predicted gratitude/awe at T2, albeit all effects were weak. Our findings suggested that personality traits play a more minor role than one might think based on cross-sectional studies in determining individuals’ capacity for forgiveness and gratitude/awe. However, it is essential to note that these results are specific to the Polish population, underscoring the necessity for future research incorporating a more diverse demographic representation.