Retributive Justice, Restorative Justice, And Forgiveness: An Experimental Psychophysiology Analysis
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2008
Publication Source
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
Volume Number
44
Issue Number
1
First Page
10
Last Page
25
ISSN
0022-1031
Abstract
This experiment assessed the emotional self-reports and physiology of justice outcomes and forgiveness responses to a common crime, using a three Justice (retributive, restorative, no justice) × 2 Forgiveness (forgiveness, none) repeated-measures design. Participants (27 males, 29 females) imagined their residence was burglarized, followed by six counterbalanced justice–forgiveness outcomes. Imagery of justice—especially restorative—and forgiveness each reduced unforgiving motivations and negative emotion (anger, fear), and increased prosocial and positive emotion (empathy, gratitude). Imagery of granting forgiveness (versus not) was associated with less heart rate reactivity and better recovery; less negative emotion expression at the brow (corrugator EMG); and less aroused expression at the eye (lower orbicularis oculiEMG when justice was absent). When forgiveness was not imagined, justice-physiology effects emerged: signs of cardiovascular stress (rate pressure products) were lower for retributive versus no justice; and sympathetic nervous system responding (skin conductance) was calmer for restorative versus retributive justice.
Keywords
Retributive justice, Restorative justice, Forgiveness, Emotion, Physiology, Stress
Recommended Citation
Witvliet, Charlotte V. O., Everett L. Worthington, Lindsey M. Root, Amy F. Sato, Thomas E. Ludwig, and Julie J. Exline. “Retributive Justice, Restorative Justice, and Forgiveness: An Experimental Psychophysiology Analysis.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 44, no. 1 (January 2008): 10–25. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2007.01.009.
Comments
The final published version can be accessed via ScienceDirect at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2007.01.009