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Conceptualizations of Forgiveness: a Latin America-Western Europe Comparison

Adriana Bagnulo
María Teresa Muñoz-Sastre
Etienne Mullet
All your life you’re told forgiveness is for you. But we’re never told why it’s for you. It means you’re working on owning your life.
Shani Tran
Therapist and Founder, The Shani Project
Forgiveness is nothing less than the way we heal the world. We heal the world by healing each and every one of our hearts. The process is simple, but it is not easy.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
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Conceptualizations of Forgiveness: a Latin America-Western Europe Comparison

Adriana Bagnulo
María Teresa Muñoz-Sastre
Etienne Mullet
NO. of participants
Date
2009
Type of Evidence
Type of Paper
Primary Empirical Study
Empiricism
open access
Yes
No
sample size
446

Conceptualizations of forgiveness were examined in two samples of Latin American and Western European participants. In both samples the same basic four-factor structure of conceptualizations was found: Change of Heart, More than Dyadic Process, Encourages Repentance, and Immoral Behavior. Latin Americans agreed more than Western Europeans with the idea that forgiveness is extensible to unknown or deceased people, thus it can be offered on behalf of deceased relatives. In both samples, substantial disagreements were found about the psychological nature of forgiveness (a change of heart), and a large proportion of participants disagreed with the idea that it may encourage the offender’s repentance. However, most participants, agreed with the basic idea that forgiveness is not immoral. It is thus recommended, to precisely define the concept of forgiveness before introducing it in therapeutic (and non-therapeutic) settings, and not to expect that everyone would agree with the proposed definition.

Research
South America
Mental Health Professionals
Supporting Research
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