People who experience chronic stress are more forgiving toward others than those who experience everyday stresses.
Children are more likely to forgive wrongdoers who apologize, especially if the offender is in their "in-group", and the upset child possesses advanced Theory of Mind skills.
People are less likely to harshly judge a friend or family member who acts unethically than they would a stranger. However, the leniency comes at a cost to the judger's sense of self-worth.
Males and females view physical and emotional cheating differently. Women consider emotional affairs to be more serious, and men believe physical infidelity to be more serious generally. Researchers report if one partner feels their relationship is threatened by cheating, it is harder for them to forgive infidelity, regardless of gender.
For those who face social rejection, researchers believe they have found a simple antidote. The study reports combining the over-the-counter pain killer acetaminophen with a dose of forgiveness can help alleviate both the physical and emotional pain of social rejection.
A new study reports our cognitive flexibility in judging those who wrong us may shed light on both the human tendency to forgive, and explain why people hold on to those who continue to wrong them.
According to researchers, the larger the amount of gray matter in the anterior superior temporal sulcus, the more likely you are to forgive those who have unintentionally caused you harm.
