The Significance of Forgiveness in the Experience of Hope
Author:
Sandra MarroquinMentor:
Virgil Adams, Associate Professor of Psychology , California State University Channel IslandsThe Significance of Forgiveness in the Experience of Hope.
Author: Sandra Marroquin, California State University Channel Islands
Mentor: Virgil H. Adams III, Ph.D.
Psychology Program
California State University Channel Islands
Forgiveness may be looked at as a process that involves increasing positive responses toward others who have caused harm to oneself. Forgiveness has been shown to be reparative in that it stabilizes hope in authoritative moral understandings. Questions commonly asked in forgiveness research include when, whom, and what we forgive. When one seeks forgiveness of self, and others, dealing with feelings of guilt that may arise can often be a difficult task. In this study it was hypothesized that the more forgiving someone is the more it would related to their experience of hope. If forgiveness and hopefulness are correlated, it would stand to reason that people who are hopeful for the future would also be more forgiving. So if humans want to realize a better and more hopeful future, it is probably best to live with an attitude of forgiveness. This study is based upon a survey results from a sample of community adults who lived in Southern California (n=1074). It was hypothesized that there forgiveness would be a significant predictor of hope. Hierarchical regression results supported the hypothesis. Forgiveness was able to account for variance in hope beyond that attributable to demographic factors. The discussion focuses on the role forgiveness in feeling of hopefulness.