Abstract
This study explored the presence of relational transgressions in the instructor-student relationship and examined the forgiveness process within this context. Students' descriptions of instructor relational transgressions were consistent with a typology of incompetent, offensive, and indolent misbehaviors. Student descriptions indicated that forgiveness varied based on the perceived transgression severity and transgressor blameworthiness of the instructor misbehavior. Offensive misbehaviors were perceived as significantly more severe and blameworthy than indolent misbehaviors.
Notes
Note. *p < 0.05. **p < 0.001.
Note. *Behaviors not listed in the Kearney et al. (Citation1991) typology.
Note. a n = 49. b n = 58. c n = 38. Means sharing subscripts on each row are significantly different. *p < 0.01.
The five items used to measure motivation to retaliate were “I'll make my instructor pay,” “I wish that something bad would happen to my instructor,” “I want my instructor to get what he/she deserves,” “I'm going to get even with my instructor,” and “I want to see my instructor hurt and miserable.” The seven items used to measure motivation to avoid were “I keep as much distance between myself and my instructor as possible,” “I live as if my instructor doesn't exist, isn't around,” “I don't trust my instructor,” “I find it difficult to act warmly toward my instructor,” “I avoid my instructor as much as possible,” “I cut off communication with my instructor,” and “I withdraw as much as possible from my instructor.” The seven items used to measure benevolence were “Even though my instructor's actions hurt me, I have goodwill toward him/her,” “Despite what my instructor did, I want us to have a positive relationship,” “I want us to bury the hatchet with my instructor and move forward with our relationship,” “I have given up my hurt and resentment toward my instructor,” “Although my instructor hurt me, I put the hurt aside so we could resume our relationship,” “I forgave my instructor for what he/she did to me,” and “I have released my anger so I could work on restoring my relationship with my instructor.”
The four items used to measure transgression severity were “This event was one of the most negative things that could happen in my relationship with my instructor,” “My instructor's behavior was completely unacceptable,” “This is one of the worst things my instructor could have done or said to me,” and “My instructor's behavior was highly inappropriate.”
The six items used to measure transgressor blameworthiness were “My instructor's behavior was due to something about him/her (e.g., the type of person he/she is, the mood he/she was in),” “The reason my instructor committed the relational transgression is not likely to change,” “The reason my instructor committed the relational transgression is something that affects other areas of my relationship with him/her,” “My instructor committed the relational transgression on purpose rather than unintentionally,” “My instructor's behavior was motivated by selfish rather than unselfish reasons,” and “My instructor deserves to be blamed for committing the relational transgression.”