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Self-protection predicts lower willingness to apologize.

Joost Leunissen1, Karina Schumann2, Constantine Sedikides3

  • 1University of Winchester.

The Journal of Social Psychology
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People avoid apologizing for self-harming offenses to protect their self-image. This avoidance is linked to reduced responsibility-taking and guilt, as perpetrators seek to maintain self-positivity.

Keywords:
Apologizingguiltresponsibility-takingselfself-protection

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Apologies are crucial for reconciliation.
  • Individuals may avoid apologizing due to self-protective motives.
  • Transgressions impacting self-concept can trigger self-protection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between self-protection and willingness to apologize.
  • To examine the moderating role of offense type (self-referent vs. other-referent).
  • To explore the mediating roles of responsibility-taking and guilt in this relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Hypothesized negative association between dispositional self-protection and apology willingness for self-referent offenses.
  • Hypothesized serial mediation by responsibility-taking and guilt.
  • Empirical testing of these hypotheses.

Main Results:

  • Dispositional self-protection was negatively associated with willingness to apologize, specifically for self-referent offenses.
  • This association was serially mediated by lower responsibility-taking and reduced guilt.
  • Findings support the self-protection motive in explaining reluctance to apologize.

Conclusions:

  • Self-protection is a key motivational factor underlying unwillingness to apologize for offenses impacting self-concept.
  • Perpetrators may avoid apologies to preserve self-positivity by downplaying responsibility and guilt.
  • Understanding these motivational dynamics is crucial for addressing apology deficits.