connect! - College of Education & Human Development - University ...

time elapsed since the offense. Among the most significant
factors that influence the decision to forgive, Tung says, are the
severity of the offense and whether the offender has apologized.
While it might seem like common sense that someone is
more likely to forgive after an apology, Tung’s adviser,
educational psychology professor Tom Hummel, says Tung’s
research is unique in that it seeks to actually quantify how
much more likely someone is to forgive by using techniques
more common in economic and marketing research. Having
“When clients tell me they finally, truly
forgive the person, they mention feeling
free. What happened still matters, but
it helps them to free themselves from
being hurt.”—LING-HSUAN TUNG
Ling-Hsuan Tung
30 CONNECT! FALL 2007
the more precise results could help clinicians treating both
victims and offenders, he says.
Now Tung is broadening her research. She recently
completed interviews with 128 graduate and undergraduate
students using scenarios similar to the first study, but
expanding the variables to include options such as whether
the victim is religious and the offender’s intent. She is also
probing more deeply into the question of reconciliation.
Forgiveness doesn’t always include reconciliation, Tung notes.
In some cases, such as sexual assault, the victim may want
nothing to do with the offender, but forgiveness is still possible,
even if the offender never knows of the decision, Tung says.
Deciding to forgive, she explains, can give patients a sense
of power and control. “It’s important to empower clients, to
say you have the control, you have the power to say you’re
going to forgive the person.” l