Beyond Accidents: Young Children’s Forgiveness of Intentional Transgressors

• In Event: Expanding the Study of Early Forgiveness: Intentions, Individual Differences, and Culture

Abstract

Cooperative relationships play a fundamental role in holding together large-scale human societies. Therefore, when these relationships are damaged by transgressions, we must ameliorate the damage and restore the relationships. One way in which relationships can be restored is through the expression of remorse from the transgressor. Previous research suggests that both adults and preschool-age children are more forgiving of remorseful than unremorseful transgressors after an accidental transgression. Interestingly, adults are less forgiving of intentional transgressors who show remorse than those who are unremorseful, likely because remorse immediately after an intentional transgression is perceived as disingenuous (Bellesi et al., 2018; Roge & Mullet, 2011). However, little is known about how children respond to remorse after intentional versus accidental transgressions. We investigated this question in two pre-registered studies.

In study 1, we asked whether children distinguish accidental from intentional transgressors when both show remorse. Five- (n = 20) and 6-year-old children (n = 20) watched videos of two transgressors, one of whom caused accidental harm and the other caused intentional harm. Both transgressors showed remorse. Children then answered 4 forced-choice test questions about their evaluations of the transgressors and distributed resources between the transgressors. In line with our hypotheses, 6-year-olds were more likely to negatively evaluate the intentional transgressor than the accidental transgressor, and they gave more resources to the accidental transgressor (binomial probabilities, all ps < .001; Figure 1). In contrast, 5-year-olds did not significantly differ from chance levels in their evaluations of the two transgressors (all ps > .115), but they did distribute more resources to the accidental transgressor (p = .041; Figure 1).

In study 2, we asked whether 6-year-olds (like adults) negatively evaluate intentional transgressors who show remorse. A new group of 6-year-olds (n = 18) watched videos of two intentional transgressors, one of whom was remorseful and the other was unremorseful. Again, children were asked to evaluate the transgressors. Contrary to findings with adults (Bellesi et al., 2018; Roge & Mullet, 2011), we found that 6-year-olds were significantly more likely to positively evaluate the remorseful than the unremorseful transgressor on 3 of the 4 forced-choice questions (binomial probability, p < .001; Figure 2). Additionally, 6-year-olds gave more resources to the remorseful transgressor (binomial probability, p = .001; Figure 2).

These findings show that although 6-year-olds evaluate remorseful intentional transgressors more negatively than remorseful accidental transgressors (study 1), they nonetheless value remorse from intentional transgressors and, unlike adults, do not perceive remorse expressed immediately after intentional transgressions as disingenuous (study 2). Thus, early forgiveness relies heavily on transgressors’ displays of remorse rather than on a more complex interaction between the nature of the transgression and the presence or absence of remorse. Future work will be needed to explore when in development forgiveness becomes more sensitively tuned to the nature of the transgression.

Authors

• Carolynn Elizabeth McElroy, Gallaudet University
  Presenting Author

• Caroline Kelsey, Boston Children’s Hospital
  Non-Presenting Author

• Janine Oostenbroek, University of Queensland
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amrisha Vaish, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author