Spring Break
Forgive and forget
ECU professor proves the adage in her documentary
Elise Phillips, Assistant Pulse Editor
Issue date: 6/4/08 Section: News
Professor and chair of ECU's Department of Psychology Kathleen Row has been studying the effects of forgiveness on the human body for over a decade. Now, her work will be seen in the PBS showing of the documentary, "The Power of Forgiveness."
The documentary will air tonight at 10 p.m. on the network, and is broken up into a number of sections to include interviews with mothers and wives of September 11 victims, national leaders' view on forgiveness (including an interview with the Dalai Lama) and a section that will feature Row's work on the science of forgiveness.
Row says she started her work in 1997 while studying the science of hostility, when the Templeton Foundation created a grant program for the study of forgiveness. It was then that Row decided to study something "healthful rather than harmful."
During her research, Row interviewed hundreds of participants in one-on-one meetings where the subject was asked to recount a time when they were betrayed or wronged all while being hooked up to blood pressure and heart rate monitors. Participants also filled out surveys about forgiveness.
Row found that everyone who recounted an event of betrayal had a rise in blood pressure, but those who had forgiven that betrayal returned to normal levels quicker than those still holding on to the offense.
"You literally carry it around with you," said Row. "If you had a heavy sack on your back, your blood pressure would raise to let you be able to carry it around with you."
Other findings of Row's research reveal that older individuals tend to forgive more readily than younger ones and women are generally more forgiving than men.
"People do get a little more forgiving with age," Row said. "I attribute that to we all make mistakes, and older people understand that."
As far as the women versus men finding, Row said it depends on the person who is really more forgiving.
"We don't know if women are more forgiving or if they see themselves as more forgiving," Row said. "It depends on the personality trait [of the person] or the particular instance [of hurt]."
Another finding: those who have forgiven a betrayal have a harder time talking about the instance than those who have not forgiven.
"People with a more forgiving personality will struggle to tell a story about a time when someone hurt them," Row said. "Other people will say, 'Where do you want me to start?'
Row says that she has learned about her own forgiveness habits through her research.
"If I've learned anything, it is the importance of being honest to the person who has hurt you," she said. "I've learned to be a little more open."
The "Power of Forgiveness," directed and produced by Martin Doblmeier, won the Best Film award at the Sun Valley Film Festival and has aired on PBS stations across the United States.
For more information about the film, visit thepowerofforgiveness.org.
This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com
The documentary will air tonight at 10 p.m. on the network, and is broken up into a number of sections to include interviews with mothers and wives of September 11 victims, national leaders' view on forgiveness (including an interview with the Dalai Lama) and a section that will feature Row's work on the science of forgiveness.
Row says she started her work in 1997 while studying the science of hostility, when the Templeton Foundation created a grant program for the study of forgiveness. It was then that Row decided to study something "healthful rather than harmful."
During her research, Row interviewed hundreds of participants in one-on-one meetings where the subject was asked to recount a time when they were betrayed or wronged all while being hooked up to blood pressure and heart rate monitors. Participants also filled out surveys about forgiveness.
Row found that everyone who recounted an event of betrayal had a rise in blood pressure, but those who had forgiven that betrayal returned to normal levels quicker than those still holding on to the offense.
"You literally carry it around with you," said Row. "If you had a heavy sack on your back, your blood pressure would raise to let you be able to carry it around with you."
Other findings of Row's research reveal that older individuals tend to forgive more readily than younger ones and women are generally more forgiving than men.
"People do get a little more forgiving with age," Row said. "I attribute that to we all make mistakes, and older people understand that."
As far as the women versus men finding, Row said it depends on the person who is really more forgiving.
"We don't know if women are more forgiving or if they see themselves as more forgiving," Row said. "It depends on the personality trait [of the person] or the particular instance [of hurt]."
Another finding: those who have forgiven a betrayal have a harder time talking about the instance than those who have not forgiven.
"People with a more forgiving personality will struggle to tell a story about a time when someone hurt them," Row said. "Other people will say, 'Where do you want me to start?'
Row says that she has learned about her own forgiveness habits through her research.
"If I've learned anything, it is the importance of being honest to the person who has hurt you," she said. "I've learned to be a little more open."
The "Power of Forgiveness," directed and produced by Martin Doblmeier, won the Best Film award at the Sun Valley Film Festival and has aired on PBS stations across the United States.
For more information about the film, visit thepowerofforgiveness.org.
This writer can be contacted at editor@theeastcarolinian.com
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