規範理解對補償式寬恕歷程之影響

Social Convention Understanding and Restitutional Forgiveness

本研究探討在中國社會中補償式寬恕行為（即恩萊氏寬恕發展理論階段二）與社會習俗的認知之間的關係，以釐清個人對社會習俗之理解層次在寬恕歷程中對降低負面情緒反應程度上的可能差異。研究中自1275名大學生中經測量選出補償式寬恕者，並對他們的社會習俗理解層次進行評量。之後，篩選出在過去三年中曾經歷過個人衝突事件並以寬恕方式解決之受試者予以個別訪談，陳述他們所經歷的衝突事件、寬恕歷程以及目前對該衝突事件之感受。訪談程序中並記錄受試者的語文和非語文情緒反應。結果顯示具肯定性社會習俗理解之受試者比具否定性社會習俗理解之受試者表現出較多之壓抑性負面情緒反應。這項結果在進一步與根據恩萊氏寬恕發展理論處第六階段之寬恕者比較時亦發現具肯定性社會習俗理解之補償式寬恕者表現出較階段六寬恕者為多的負面情緒反應，但具否定性社會習俗理解之補償式寬恕者與第六階段寬恕者之間則無此差異。這些證據顯示吾人於探討補償式寬恕行為時，有必要釐清寬恕者對社會習俗的理解型式以確定補償式寬恕者所指稱之補償行為的意義。

The present study was designed to examine whether or not as a form of forgiveness, seeking restitution can be regarded as a socially conventional response in the Chinese society and hence an individual 's conception of convention may affect a restitutional forgiver's motives and the extent to which his or her negative emotions are released during the process of forgiving. Restitutional forgivers with recent experiences in interpersonal conflicts were selected as subjects from among 1275 Chinese college students; their understandings of social convention were also measured. Subjects were asked to describe the forgiving process they went through and and their current feelings for the conflicts, for which verbal and non verbal measures of emotional states were taken. Results showed that subjects at the affirmative phases of social convention understanding appear to harbor more anger and unresolved negative emotions than those at the negation phases. A further comparison between restitutional forgivers and Stage-6 forgivers supports the above finding in that restitutional forgivers at the negative phases showed no differences in measures of negative emotions from those Stage-6 forgivers, whereas those at the affirmative phases exhibited more negative emotions than the Stage6 forgivers. These results suggest that it may be necessary to take into account an individual's conception and understanding of social convention in order to clarify the meaning of restitution for restitutional forgivers.