"Welch' eine arme Sau"

Fremdverstehen, emotionsregulation und die kommunikative konstruktion interpersonaler vergebung

authored by

Sonja Fücker, Christian von Scheve

Abstract

Contrary to revenge and retaliation, forgiveness as a strategy of interpersonal conflict resolution has not yet become the subject of sociological inquiry. Based on a qualitative interview study, this contribution investigates the social dimensions of meaning and signification that are essential to the forgiving of non-justiciable wrongs in interpersonal social relationships. Our results show that victims' reactions to perceived wrongs are characterized by ambivalent and at times contradictory behavioral expectations that produce significant emotional irritation. Looking at various courses of interaction that centrally involve the moral judgment of wrongdoings, we show that successful acts of forgiveness substantially depend on the interpersonal regulation and transformation of emotion. These emotions function as mutual frames of reference for the intersubjective understanding of wrongdoings and suggest that interpersonal forgiveness should be conceived of as a genuinely social interactive process rather than an individual propensity.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Environmental Planning

Type

Article

Journal

Zeitschrift für Soziologie

Volume

46

Pages

22–38

No. of pages

17

ISSN

0340-1804

Publication date

2017

Publication status

Published

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Sociology and Political Science

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1515/zfsoz-2017-1002 (Access: Closed)