Forgive and Forget, or Forgive and Regret? Whether Forgiveness Leads to Less or More Offending Depends on Offender Agreeableness

How does forgiveness predict the likelihood of reoffending? One survey study, one experiment, one 4-year longitudinal study, and one 2-week diary study examined the implications of forgiveness for reoffending in relationships. 

In all four studies, agreeableness interacted with partner forgiveness to predict subsequent offending; partner forgiveness was negatively associated with subsequent offending among more agreeable people but positively associated with subsequent offending among less agreeable people. 

Furthermore, Study 4 demonstrated a unique mechanism of each simple effect; relatively agreeable people engaged in fewer transgressions against more forgiving partners because they felt obligated to refrain from transgressing against such partners whereas relatively disagreeable people engaged in more transgressions against more forgiving partners because they perceived those partners were less easily angered. 

These studies indicate that completely understanding the intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of forgiveness requires recognizing the dyadic nature of forgiveness and attending to qualities of the offender.

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By:  McNulty JK1, Russell VM2.

• 1Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA mcnulty@psy.fsu.edu.
• 2North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA. 
• Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2016 Mar 30. pii: 0146167216637841.

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Similar Personality Patterns Are Associated with Empathy in Four Different Countries

Empathy is an important human ability associated with successful social interaction. It is currently unclear how to optimally measure individual differences in empathic processing. Although the Big Five model of personality is an effective model to explain individual differences in human experience and behavior, its relation to measures of empathy is currently not well understood. 

Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the relationship between the Big Five personality concept and two commonly used measures for empathy [Empathy Quotient (EQ), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)] in four samples from China, Germany, Spain, and the United States of America. This approach was designed to advance the way the Big Five personality model can be used to measure empathy. 

We found evidence of medium effect sizes for associations between personality and empathy, with agreeableness and conscientiousness as the most important predictors of affective and cognitive empathy (measured by the respective IRI subscales) as well as for a one-dimensional empathy score (measured by the EQ). Empathy in a fictional context was most closely related to openness to experience while personal distress was first of all related to neuroticism. In terms of culture, we did not observe any distinct pattern concerning cultural differences. 

These results support the cross-cultural applicability of the EQ and the IRI and indicate structurally similar associations between personality and empathy across cultures.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/3ZImGe

By:  Martin C. Melchers,1,* Mei Li,2 Brian W. Haas,3 Martin Reuter,1,4 Lena Bischoff,1 and Christian Montag5,*

¹Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

²Student Counseling Center, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing, China

³Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

⁴Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

⁵Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

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An Online Assessment of Personality, Psychological, and Sexuality Trait Variables Associated with Self-Reported Hypersexual Behavior

"Hypersexual" behavior represents a perceived inability to control one's sexual behavior. To investigate hypersexual behavior, an international sample of 510 self-identified heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual men and women completed an anonymous online self-report questionnaire battery. 

In addition to age and sex (male), hypersexual behavior was related to higher scores on measures of sexual excitation, sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance failure, trait impulsivity, and both depressed mood and anxiety. 

In contrast, hypersexual behavior was related to lower scores on sexual inhibition due to the threat of performance consequences. Higher neuroticism and extraversion, as well as lower agreeableness and conscientiousness, also predicted hypersexual behavior. 

Interestingly, interactions among the variables assessed did not significantly predict hypersexual behavior, suggesting the possible existence of multiple and predominantly independent taxa for various persons reporting hypersexual behavior. Core personality features may also be present in persons with hypersexual behavior. 

Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.

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By: Walton MT1, Cantor JM2, Lykins AD3.

• 1Discipline of Psychology, School of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia.
• 2Law and Mental Health Program, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
• 3Discipline of Psychology, School of Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia. alykins@une.edu.au.

  

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