Forgiveness and personality traits

Using a sample of 275 college students, this study examined the relationship between forgiveness of others (i.e., situational and dispositional) and the five-factor model of personality. All forgiveness measures were negatively correlated with Neuroticism and positively correlated with Agreeableness. Extraversion was positively related to one forgiveness measure. None of the forgiveness measures were related to Openness or Conscientiousness. However, Conscientiousness showed suppression effects and was negatively correlated with one situational and one dispositional forgiveness measure when included in multiple regression equations. Several facets of the five-factor domains were significantly correlated with forgiveness in the expected direction. The five-factor domains uniquely contributed to the prediction of forgiveness beyond demographics, empathy, religiousness, and social desirability. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.