Forgiveness, memory, and emotions

I aim to understand the relationship between memory, emotion, and forgiveness. Broadly speaking, forgiveness involves an emotional change from negative emotions toward less negative or even positive emotions, as well as a motivational change in responses toward the wrongdoer. Some authors suggest that these changes are tied to forgetting the offense. However, evidence from my own work indicates that people can overcome feelings such as anger and resentment, despite having vivid memories of what was done to them. Forgiving is definitely not forgetting.

My research adopts a cross-cultural approach, examining both a sample of victims of war in Montes de María, Colombia who have experienced severe wrongdoings (e.g., murder, kidnapping, torture, and massacres) and community samples in the United States. It is also methodologically pluralistic: I use a combination of in-depth interviews, physiological and behavioral assessments, and ethnographic methods to gather convergent evidence on how the emotional responses associated with memories of wrongdoing change over time.

This research is led by my advisor, Dr. Felipe de Brigard, and made possible thanks to an amazing group of collaborators who bring this work to life, including Dr. Santiago Amaya, Dr. Pablo Abitbol, and Dr. Leonard Faul, among many others.