When Apologies Work: The Benefits of Matching Apology Content to Victims and Context

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dc.contributor.advisorGelfand, Micheleen_US
dc.contributor.authorFehr, Ryanen_US
dc.contributor.departmentPsychologyen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2008-04-22T16:07:41Z
dc.date.available2008-04-22T16:07:41Z
dc.date.issued2007-11-30en_US
dc.description.abstractResearch shows that apologies are useful social tools. Yet common sense tells us that apologies often differ in terms of what is said, who they are said to, and the circumstances under which they are said. In each of these cases, an apology's impact can be expected to change. Data from 171 students participating in a policy capturing experiment were used to explore the interacting effects of apology content, victim self-construal, and harm severity on forgiveness. Results suggest that each apology component positively and independently influences forgiveness. Furthermore, victim self-construal moderates apology effectiveness. Specifically, the independent self strengthens the impact of compensation, the relational self strengthens the impact of concern and acknowledgement of a violated rule/norm, and the collective self strengthens the impact of acknowledgement of a violated rule/norm. Lastly, harm severity is found to strengthen the relationship between apology length and forgiveness. Implications for research and practice are discussed.en_US
dc.format.extent336292 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/7771
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledPsychology, Industrialen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledPsychology, Socialen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledApologyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledSocial Accountsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledSelf-Construalen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledForgivenessen_US
dc.titleWhen Apologies Work: The Benefits of Matching Apology Content to Victims and Contexten_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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