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The primary aim of this research was to examine the effects of an injured party's preemptive forgiveness (grudge, none, explicit, implied) on a transgressor's repentance. We also explored the moderating role of a transgressor's judgment of responsibility (low, high) and the mediating role that feelings of shame and motivation to reconcile play in the preemptive forgiveness!repentance process. The results of two experiments showed that different types of forgiveness had different effects on repentance and prosocial conduct. In Study 2, we extended these findings by examining the moderating role that judgment of responsibility plays and the mediating role that shame and motivation to reconcile plays in the preemptive forgiveness!repentance process. These experiments show that, relative to holding a grudge, no forgiveness, and explicit forgiveness, the most effective preemptive prosocial strategy was implied forgiveness, particularly when judgments of responsibility were low. In addition, a stepdown analysis suggests that the effects of forgiveness and responsibility on repentance are mediated by a transgressor's shame and motivation to reconcile.

The purpose of this research was to examine the interrelationship among attributions of responsibility, repentance, victims' appraisal of the appropriateness of forgiving the transgressor, and forgiveness. It is argued that an injured party's appraisal of how appropriate it is to forgive the transgressor is important in understanding discrepant theoretical and empirical observations regarding the relationship between responsibility judgments and forgiveness. In one nonexperimental/naturalistic study and 2 experiments, we confirmed predictions that responsibility attributions would positively relate with a victim's appraisal of how appropriate it is to forgive the transgressor, and negatively with forgiveness. In addition, all 3 studies confirmed that a victim's appraisal of the appropriateness to forgive the transgressor explains the relationship between responsibility judgments and forgiveness.

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