published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 12, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 114-121).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2002. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-132).

In Forgiveness and Responsibility, I investigate the nature and norms of moral forgiveness. The standard account of forgiveness claims that forgiving is (or at least requires) the overcoming of resentment. I argue, however, that there is no single way to forgive and so no non-trivial set of necessary and sufficient conditions for forgiveness. I identify the prototypical manifestation of forgiveness, using it to explain the diversity of our forgiveness practices. Prototypical manifestations of forgiveness are cases of directed forgiveness, in which one takes up a certain kind of forgiving attitude towards a wrongdoer and overtly manifests that attitude, most notably by a speech act. This speech act crucially involves the victim relinquishing certain of her rights to blame the wrongdoer, as well as releasing the wrongdoer from certain kinds of personal obligations to the victim. Other modes of forgiveness are understood as extensions of the prototype to the extent that they share either the interior, psychological features or the exterior, behavioral features of directed forgiveness. I conclude by arguing that in order to preserve certain intuitive views about the norms bearing on forgiveness, our best theories of forgiveness should hold that: (1) forgiving is prototypically under one's voluntary control; (2) wrongdoers cannot obligate their victims to forgive them; and (3) forgiving alters the norms of interaction between victim and wrongdoer.

Fairness theory represents a widely cited framework for modeling the cognitive processes that underlie the formation of fairness perceptions in the workplace. Nonetheless, imprecise language and scant empirical research limit its ability to further organizational justice research. Therefore, in this dissertation I provide a review and critique of fairness theory suggesting several revisions. I then build upon this revised model to develop a new model of fairness perception formation. The developed model is tested via a laboratory experiment and a field study, both of which provide initial evidence in favor of the proposed model.

No description available.

This study examined whether participants’ attributions of blame and responsibility toward a victim of domestic violence were influenced by whether or not the victim left her abuser. It also looked at whether or not educational information regarding the difficulties of leaving a violent partner would affect these attributions. Participants, all adults from the United States, either read a vignette in which a woman victim of domestic violence stayed with her abusive husband, or left him. Prior to reading the vignette, some participants were given information about the problems associated with leaving a violent partner, and some were not. All participants completed a scale measuring victim blame. No main effects of whether the victim left or whether the participant received information were found on attributions of blame, and there was not a statistically significant interaction between the victim leaving and presence of information. An interaction between whether or not the participant was a victim of domestic violence and the presence of information was found on victim blame, but further research should examine this more closely with a study specifically designed to investigate victims and their perceptions.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves : 53-56).