COMM Assistant Professor Jennifer L. McCullough, Ph.D., co-authored “How Do You Like Your Forgiveness? Communication Style Preferences and Effects” in Communication Studies Vol. 68, No. 5, 2017, 568-587.
Her co-writers included: Andy J. Merolla, Ph.D., an assistant professor of interpersonal communication at the University of California - Santa Barbara; Shuangyue Zhang, Ph.D., an associate professor of communication studies at Sam Houston State University in Texas; and Shaojing Sun, Ph.D., a professor of journalism at Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
According to the authors’ abstract, the two studies examined forgiveness recipients’ evaluations and responses to four styles of forgiveness-granting communication: engaging, deemphasizing, conditional and suppressing. In the context of close friendships, Study 1 showed that the engaging style was highly preferred, while the suppressing and conditional styles were not. Study 2 suggested that engaging forgiveness was preferable because it effectively addressed personal needs and reduced uncertainty. Overall, the investigation sought to cast new light on the forgiveness-granting communication styles that best facilitate repair.