Perceived warmth moderates the relationship between intergroup apology and forgiveness: An experiment using a fictitious group

Abstract

Hong Kong participants read a fictional scenario in which Hong Kong interests had been harmed by a fictitious outgroup that was either described as high or low in warmth. Participants were subsequently informed that the offending group had either apologized for the incident or not. Response satisfaction, perceived remorse, ulterior motives, and forgiveness were measured. A warmth × apology between-subjects ANOVA, revealed a significant interaction effect in predicting forgiveness, F(1, 104) = 5.88, p = .02. Simple effects analyses revealed that apology had a significant effect on forgiveness in the low-warmth condition, F(1, 53) = 6.81, p = .01 but not in the high-warmth condition, F(1, 50) = .91, p = .35. These results echo findings of our previous study, in which apology was manipulated and warmth measured, and thus provide further evidence for the moderating role of perceived warmth in the apology-forgiveness relationship.