People typically view justice and forgiveness as opposites. This article summarizes a burgeoning literature indicating that (a) punishment can, in fact, encourage forgiveness and (b) inclusive justice orientations are positively associated with forgiving.
ExlineJ. J.WorthingtonE. L.Jr.HillP.McCulloughM. E. (2003). Forgiveness and justice: A research agenda for social and personality psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 337–348. A broad introduction to key issues and concepts in forgiveness research, often through a justice-tinted lens.
2.
FitnessJ.PetersonJ. (2008). (See References). A discussion from the perspective of evolutionary theory on the interplay of punishment and forgiveness within romantic relationships.
3.
SabbaghC.SchmittM. (Eds.). (2016). Handbook of social justice theory and research. New York, NY: Springer. An introduction to the many different forms of justice addressed in the present article. See, in particular, Chapters 4, 7, 8, and 10 through 14.
4.
WenzelM.OkimotoT. G. (2012). The varying meaning of forgiveness: Relationship closeness moderates how forgiveness affects feelings of justice. European Journal of Social Psychology, 42, 420–431. An article reflecting the relevant theorizing and research on the concept that forgiveness can also encourage a sense of justice, an idea that is beyond the scope of the present review.
5.
WorthingtonE. L.Jr., (Ed.). (2005). Handbook of forgiveness. New York, NY: Routledge. A wide-ranging introduction to forgiveness theory, methodology, research, and application.
6.
AquinoK.TrippT. M.BiesR. J. (2006). Getting even or moving on? Power, procedural justice, and types of offense as predictors of revenge, forgiveness, reconciliation, and avoidance in organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 653–668.
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BartholomaeusJ.StrelanP. (2016). Just world beliefs and forgiveness: The mediating role of implicit theories of relationships. Personality and Individual Differences, 96, 106–110.
8.
CarlsmithK. M.DarleyJ. M. (2008). Psychological aspects of retributive justice. In ZannaM. P. (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 40, pp. 93–236). San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
9.
DavidR. (2017). What we know about transitional justice: Survey and experimental evidence. Advances in Political Psychology, 28, 151–177.
10.
EnrightR. D.FitzgibbonsR. P. (2000). Helping clients forgive: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
11.
FeatherN. T. (1999). Values, achievement, and justice: Studies in the psychology of deservingness. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
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FehrR.GelfandM. J.NagM. (2010). The road to forgiveness: A meta-analytic synthesis of its situational and dispositional correlates. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 894–914.
13.
FitnessJ.PetersonJ. (2008). Punishment and forgiveness in close relationships. In ForgasJ. P.FitnessJ. (Eds.), Social Relationships: Cognitive, affective, and motivational processes (pp. 255–269). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
14.
KarremansJ. C.Van LangeP. A. (2005). Does activating justice help or hurt in promoting forgiveness?Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 290–297.
15.
KneeC. R.PatrickH.LonsbaryC. (2003). Implicit theories of relationships: Orientations toward evaluation and cultivation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 41–55.
16.
LernerM. (1980). The belief in a just world: A fundamental delusion. New York, NY: Plenum.
17.
LucasT.StrelanP.KarremansJ. C.SuttonR. M.NajmiE.MalikZ. (2017). When does priming justice promote forgiveness? On the importance of distributive and procedural justice for self and others. The Journal of Positive Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/17439760.2017.1303533
18.
LucasT.YoungJ. D.ZhdanovaL.AlexanderS. (2010). Self and other justice beliefs, impulsivity, rumination, and forgiveness: Justice beliefs can both prevent and promote forgiveness. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 851–856.
19.
McCulloughM. E. (2008). Beyond revenge: The evolution of the forgiveness instinct. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
20.
McNultyJ. K. (2011). The dark side of forgiveness: The tendency to forgive predicts continued psychological and physical aggression in marriage. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 770–783.
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McNultyJ. K.O’MaraE. M.KarneyB. R. (2008). Benevolent cognitions as a strategy of relationship maintenance: “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. . . . But it is not all small stuff. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 631–646.
22.
MurphyJ. G. (2003). Getting even: Forgiveness and its limits. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
23.
StrelanP. (2007). The prosocial, adaptive qualities of just world beliefs: Implications for the relationship between justice and forgiveness. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 881–890.
24.
StrelanP.CrabbS.ChanD.JonesL. (2017). Lay perspectives on the costs and risks of forgiving. Personal Relationships, 24, 392–407.
25.
StrelanP.Di FioreC.Van ProoijenJ.-W. (2017). The empowering effect of punishment on forgiveness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 472–487. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2254
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StrelanP.FeatherN. T.McKeeI. (2008). Justice and forgiveness: Experimental evidence for compatibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1538–1544.
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StrelanP.FeatherN. T.McKeeI. R. (2011). Retributive and inclusive justice goals and forgiveness: The influence of motivational values. Social Justice Research, 24, 126–142.
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StrelanP.McKeeI. (2014). Inclusive justice beliefs and forgiveness: Commonality through self-transcending values. Personality and Individual Differences, 68, 87–92.
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StrelanP.McKeeI.CalicD.CookL.ShawL. (2013). For whom do we forgive? A functional analysis of forgiveness. Personal Relationships, 20, 124–139.
30.
StrelanP.McKeeI.FeatherN. T. (2016). When and how forgiveness benefits victims: Post-transgression offender effort and the mediating role of deservingness judgements. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 308–322.
31.
StrelanP.SuttonR. (2011). When just world beliefs promote and when they inhibit forgiveness. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 163–168.
32.
StrelanP.Van ProoijenJ.-W. (2013). Retribution and forgiveness: The healing effects of punishing for just deserts. European Journal of Social Psychology, 43, 544–553.
33.
StrelanP.Van ProoijenJ.-W. (2016). Tough love: The behavior control justice motive facilitates forgiveness in valued relationships. Personal Relationships, 23, 536–553.
34.
WenzelM.OkimotoT. G. (2014). On the relationship between justice and forgiveness: Are all forms of justice made equal?British Journal of Social Psychology, 53, 463–483.
35.
WenzelM.OkimotoT. G. (2016). Retributive justice. In SabbaghC.SchmittM. (Eds.), Handbook of social justice theory and research (pp. 237–256). New York, NY: Springer.
36.
WenzelM.OkimotoT. G.FeatherN. T.PlatowM. J. (2008). Retributive and restorative justice. Law and Human Behavior, 32, 375–389.
37.
WorthingtonE. L.Jr. (2001). Five steps to forgiveness: The art and science of forgiving. New York, NY: Crown.
