TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-Protection Predicts Lower Willingness to Apologize
AU - Leunissen, Joost
AU - Schumann, Karina
AU - Sedikides, Constantine
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2021/7/30
Y1 - 2021/7/30
N2 - Although apologies are effective at promoting reconciliation, perpetrators often choose not to apologize because doing so can be threatening to the self. We hypothesized that dispositional self-protection would be negatively associated with willingness to apologize, but only when the transgression pertained to the self rather than another person. Only in that case would self-positivity be threatened, thereby activating the self-protection motive. In addition, we hypothesized that the negative association between self-protection and willingness to apologize for self-referent offenses would be serially mediated by responsibility-taking and guilt. This would be so because perpetrators can self-protect by lowering their felt responsibility and, in turn, reduce guilt for the transgression. The results were consistent with the hypotheses. We discuss implications of this motivational account for unwillingness to apologize.
AB - Although apologies are effective at promoting reconciliation, perpetrators often choose not to apologize because doing so can be threatening to the self. We hypothesized that dispositional self-protection would be negatively associated with willingness to apologize, but only when the transgression pertained to the self rather than another person. Only in that case would self-positivity be threatened, thereby activating the self-protection motive. In addition, we hypothesized that the negative association between self-protection and willingness to apologize for self-referent offenses would be serially mediated by responsibility-taking and guilt. This would be so because perpetrators can self-protect by lowering their felt responsibility and, in turn, reduce guilt for the transgression. The results were consistent with the hypotheses. We discuss implications of this motivational account for unwillingness to apologize.
KW - Apologizing
KW - guilt
KW - responsibility-taking
KW - self
KW - self-protection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111844195&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00224545.2021.1948812
DO - 10.1080/00224545.2021.1948812
M3 - Article
JO - Journal of Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Social Psychology
SN - 0022-4545
ER -