如何道歉更有效:调节聚焦与信息框架的作用

本研究结合调节聚焦理论探讨了如何道歉更有效。两个实验通过启动不同调节聚焦,创设冒犯情境并呈现不同框架的道歉信息,考察调节聚焦与道歉框架对道歉效果的影响。结果表明,向促进聚焦的受害者呈现积极框架的道歉信息、向防御聚焦的受害者呈现消极框架的道歉信息能改善受害者对冒犯者的评价,降低交往回避倾向,获得较好的道歉效果,且正确感是此种影响发生的内在机制。

How to Make Apologies More Effective: the Effect of Regulatory Focus and information framing

Apologies are useful social tools that can act as catalysts in the resolution of conflict and inspire forgiveness. Yet as numerous real-world blunders attest, apologies are not always effective. Social psychologists pay close attention to the issue that how to make apologies more effective, in order to restore the damaged relationship. Previous research examined the effectiveness of apologies by contrasting the effect of apology to non-apology. However, little attention has been focus on the motivational aspect of the effectiveness of apologies. One theory that incorporates these ideas and might assist in qualifying the relationship between information framing and the effectiveness is Higgins’ s regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997). This theory argues that individuals pursue one of two different types of self-regulatory goals: promotion-focused goals and prevention-focused goals. According to Higgins (2000), regulatory fit occurs when an individual uses strategic means or confronts with information framing congruent with his or her regulatory focus to some end. Fit between regulatory focus and information frame will strengthen individual’s evaluation on the information, as well as the affect and motivation. This is because when there is regulatory fit, the manner of goal pursuit feels right and increases the value of what a person is doing (Cesario, Grant & Higgins, 2004). Feeling right from regulatory fit produces a feeling of importance and correctness that can be transferred to evaluations of objects, including the framing of an apology. This research，using diverse methodologies and measures，were conducted to explore the role that self-regulatory focus of an injured party and framing of apologies of an offender plays in explaining the motivational process of an apology. Specifically, Study 1 created an interpersonal transgression situation in the lab, and a confederate acted offender and actually communicate with participants. Participants’ regulatory focus was manipulated through presenting different task framings. After the participants received either framing of apology, the researchers used the Implicit Association Test (IAT) paradigm to measure participants’ implicit and explicit appraisals to offenders. Findings showed that regulatory focus and information framing had a significant interaction. Further analysis indicated that the apologies framing which congruent with participant’s regulatory focus produced significantly more positive implicit and explicit appraisals to offenders. Study 2 primed either promotion focus or prevention focus of participants by instructing them to focus on their experience of aspirations or obligations, then presented the transgression scenarios and instructed participants to imagine themselves as the victims in the scenario. Finally the participant reported their inclination to avoid or revenge the offenders, as an index of the effectiveness of apologies. The result indicated that regulatory focus and information framing had a significant interaction on avoidance, whereas neither of the two variables have significant effect on revenge. Specifically speaking, when promotion-focused participants received a positive framing apology, or prevention-focused participants received a negative framing apology, participants reported significantly less avoidance towards offenders. The researches also discussed the mechanism of regulatory fit achieved by victims’ regulatory focus and offenders’ apology framing, namely, feeling right. The results showed that feeling-right mediated the relationship between the interaction of regulatory focus and apologies and avoidance. According to Higgins (2000), experiencing fit and the associated feelings of rightness provides an intuitive confirmation to one’s response to apology. Thus, regulatory fit would serve to confirm positive attitude individuals typically feel following the apologies, and improve their impression of offenders, consequently give more forgiveness, so as to make the apologies more effective. The present research suggests that regulatory focus theory can help inform the scientific study of apology and its motivational process between the involved parties.