Forgiveness: An Exploratory Factor Analysis and Its Relationships to Religious Variables
Few psychological investigators have empirically defined forgiveness, although many theoretical and case study discussions exist. Two emergent views--forgiveness as unidimensional or as multidimensional--were considered by conducting a dimensional factor analysis and then relating the factors to rel...
Authors: | ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage Publications
1993
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In: |
Review of religious research
Year: 1993, Volume: 34, Issue: 4, Pages: 333-347 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Few psychological investigators have empirically defined forgiveness, although many theoretical and case study discussions exist. Two emergent views--forgiveness as unidimensional or as multidimensional--were considered by conducting a dimensional factor analysis and then relating the factors to religious variables. Over 1000 respondents, chosen by stratified random sampling, were administered a Gallup poll questionnaire. Based on 25 forgiveness item responses, four primary factors were found: Forgiving Motive, Religious Response, Forgiving Pro-Action, and Hostility. A higher-order forgiveness factor also was extracted; thus forgiveness may be viewed as a single factor. However, forgiveness more accurately is best measured as a multifactorial concept, especially in the investigation of religion. Consistent with traditional Christian teachings, Protestants, Catholics, evangelicals, and the more personally religious generally reported more forgiving responses than Jewish, no/other religious preference, non-evangelical, and less personally religious respondents. Implications for theoretical models of forgiveness also are noted. |
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ISSN: | 2211-4866 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Review of religious research
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3511971 |