People are much more likely to forgive when the transgressor had apologized. Apologies help heal relationships that have been threatened by a breach of trust.
Apologies include a statement of transformation (i.e. the transgressor has changed). People who hold entity theories (i.e. the self is not prone to change) are less likely to give an apology and are less forgiving. People who hold relatively conservative values are more likely to hold entity beliefs about human nature.
The exchange theory states that transgressions lead to a disequilibrium in the relationship. Apologies restore equity in the relationship, leading to reduced need for additional punishment. The needs-based model of reconciliation states that transgressors and victims have different goals that they seek to achieve through the reconciliation process. The transgressor’s primary motive is to restore their moral image in the eyes of others. The victim’s primary motive is to restore power, control, honour and status.
Social dominance orientation (SDO) assesses people’s general orientation to the existence of societal hierarchies. People low in SDO see equality as a virtuous goal whereas people high in SDO see power differences as normal, natural and unproblematic. People who hold relatively conservative values are more likely to be high in SDO.
The more conservative people are, the more they endorse both SDO and entity beliefs which resulted in a reluctance to apologize.
The more conservative people are, the less likely they are to use apologetic statements. Conservatives are also less influenced by apologies when determining whether a transgressor deserved forgiveness. There is no clear-cut evidence that entity beliefs are related to the willingness to provide and reward apologies.
