The Effects of Blame Attributions and Offender Likableness on Forgiveness and Revenge in the Workplace

Abstract

This study proposes and tests a model that applies the concept of restorative justice to the enactment of revenge and forgiveness in organizations. The model draws from theories of cognitive attribution and consistency, as well as more recent theories of revenge in organizations, to describe the process by which a personal offense triggers revenge and forgiveness cognitions and behavior. Attributions of blame were predicted to directly influence the contemplation of revenge and forgiveness strategies. In turn, these cognitions were hypothesized to be the immediate precursors of behavior. It was also predicted that the likableness of the offender would be positively associated with both revenge and forgiveness cognitions. Finally, blame attribution was expected to be influenced by offense severity. To test these predictions, a survey was administered to one hundred and eighty employees of a government agency. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the significance of the pathways in the model and compare its fit to theoretically plausible rivals. Although the theoretical model fit the data well, a less constrained alternative showed a superior fit. In both the theoretical model and less constrained alternative, all but two of the predicted pathways in the model were upheld. The implications of the findings for organizations are discussed and future research directions are offered.

Evidence for a distinct forgiveness prototype: Convergent and discriminant validity

“…A number of items also address the victim's perception of the transgression (magnitude of offense, other possible explanations, blame attributions, mitigating circumstances, communication about the incident) and reinforce studies that have found a significant association between these type of victim perceptions and degree of forgiving response (e.g., Bradfield & Aquino, 1999;Fincham, 2000;Worthington et al, 2000). …”

“…Research on forgiveness is growing rapidly, including the roles played by situational factors (McCullough, Fincham, & Tsang, 2003;Takaku, 2001), intrapersonal factors and individual differences (Bradfield & Aquino, 1999;Brown, 2003;Konstam, Chernoff, & Deveney, 2001) and dyadic relational factors (Fincham & Beach, 2002;Finkel, Rusbult, Kumashiro, & Hannon, 2002;Friesen et al, 2005). However, as mentioned earlier, there has been relatively little interest in a possible consensual lay representation of forgiveness, and only a handful of studies have examined forgiveness from a lay perspective.…”

“…In Fletcher's model, information from both general social theories (e.g., theory of mind), and general relationship theories (e.g., beliefs about the nature and function of close relationships) are required to make complex attributions about the nature of social partner's behavior. Since a variety of studies have shown that attributions of blame by the victim are an important predictor of forgiveness (e.g., Bradfield & Aquino, 1999;Fincham, 2000;Friesen, Fletcher, & Overall, 2005) it was predicted that they would also be incorporated into the lay representation.…”

Always on my mind: The impact of relational ambivalence on rumination upon supervisor mistreatment

“…Commitment to a relationship also strengthens over time (e.g., McCullough et al, 1998;Bradfield & Aquino, 1999;Fincham, 2000;Orth, 2004;Kidder, 2007). Commitment, in this sense, indicates concern for the interests of the partner and the relationship (Finkel et al 2002, Rusbult et al 1991, Van Lange et al 1997).…”

Deliberate self-persuasion and forgiveness

“…For example, some personality traits have been shown to correlate positively with forgiveness, such as agreeableness (e.g., Ashton, Paunonen, Helmes, & Jackson, 1998;McCullough & Hoyt, 2002) and emotional stability (e.g., Ashton et al, 1998;Berry, Worthington, Parrott, O'Connor, & Wade, 2001). When individuals forgive, they tend to make generous attributions about and evaluations of the transgressor and the transgression (e.g., Bradfield & Aquino, 1999;Shapiro, 1991). Other research has shown that forgiving responses have positive outcomes for victims, including reduction of negative emotions, better physical health (Witvliet, Ludwig, & Vander Laan, 2001), and improved mental health (Burnette, Davis, Green, Worthington, & Bradfield, 2009;Coyle & Enright, 1997;Freedman & Enright, 1996).…”