The perception of time heals all wounds: Temporal distance affects willingness to forgive following an interpersonal transgression (accepted)

McCullough, Fincham, and Tsang (2003) assessed the temporal unfolding of forgiveness and found that as time distances the victim from the transgression, forgiveness becomes more likely. These findings lend credence to the axiom ‘time heals all wounds.’ The current research examined the effect of time perception on forgiveness of others by experimentally manipulating temporal distance. In Study 1, participants read about a hypothetical transgression that occurred one or twelve months ago. In line with McCullough et al. (2003), respondents reported greater willingness to forgive the transgressor the more time had elapsed since the transgression. Study 2 aimed to determine the influence of subjective temporal distance (see Wilson & Ross, 2001) by inducing participants to feel close to or distant from a hypothetical transgression while controlling for the actual passage of time (one month ago). As expected, participants who perceived the transgression to be farther away in time were more willing to forgive the target than were participants who perceived the event to be temporally closer. Study 3 employed the same subjective temporal distance manipulation as Study 2, but personalized the transgression by asking participants to recall a time in which someone hurt them one month ago. It was found that empathy for the transgressor increased when the harm was subjectively distant. Further, empathy mediated the subjective temporal distance effect on forgiveness. Results suggest that temporal appraisals of an event are central to the forgiveness process. Implications of these findings for further research are discussed.