If left unresolved, interpersonal offenses can poison people's relationships. Fortunately, transgressors can promote reconciliation with the victim by offering comprehensive and non-defensive apologies. What predicts whether transgressors go the extra mile to offer these high-quality apologies? In Study 1 (N = 289), participants who reported greater state empathy toward their romantic partner offered more comprehensive and less defensive apologies for an unresolved offense they had committed. In Study 2 (N = 150), participants who reported greater state empathy toward a friend offered more comprehensive and less defensive apologies for an imagined offense. In Study 3 (N = 251), participants who were experimentally induced to experience high (vs. low) empathy offered more comprehensive apologies for unresolved transgressions across a variety of relationship types. These studies are the first to provide experimental and behavioral evidence of the empathy–apology link, and suggest that fostering empathy might be a powerful way to promote more constructive conflict responses in interpersonal relationships.

中文翻译：

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同理心是高质量人际道歉的预测指标

如果不解决，人际犯罪会毒化人们的关系。幸运的是，违法者可以通过提供全面和非防御性的道歉来促进与受害者的和解。是什么预测了违规者是否会加倍努力提供这些高质量的道歉？在研究 1 ( N  = 289) 中，那些对他们的浪漫伴侣表现出更强的国家同情心的参与者为他们所犯的未解决的罪行提供了更全面和更少防御性的道歉。在研究 2 ( N  = 150) 中，对朋友表现出更强的同理心的参与者为想象中的冒犯提供了更全面、更少防御性的道歉。在研究 3 ( N = 251），实验性诱导体验高（与低）同理心的参与者为各种关系类型中未解决的违规行为提供了更全面的道歉。这些研究首次提供了同理心-道歉联系的实验和行为证据，并表明培养同理心可能是促进人际关系中更具建设性的冲突反应的有效方式。