Journal article
Awareness of Common Humanity Reduces Empathy and Heightens Expectations of Forgiveness for Temporally Distant Wrongdoing
Katharine H Greenaway, Winnifred R Louis, Michael JA Wohl
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE | SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC | Published : 2012
Abstract
The present research identified why and under what conditions perpetrator groups expect forgiveness from victims when focused on common humanity. In Experiment 1 (N = 41), thinking about victims as fellow humans increased expectations of forgiveness among perpetrator group members. Experiment 2 (N = 74) revealed the important role of subjective temporal distance in qualifying the effect of appealing to common humanity. Forgiveness expectations increased when a transgression was perceived as temporally distant rather than close. Experiment 3 (N = 70) found that expecting forgiveness was associated negatively with remorse for wrongdoing and revealed reduced empathy for victims as a mediator of..
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