A little help from our friends: Informal third parties and interpersonal conflict

Individuals who have been hurt by an interpersonal transgression often turn to others for support, but very little is known about the function of these informal third parties. In this study, a qualitative approach was used to analyze victims' written narratives describing a transgression in order to better understand what role informal third parties may play. The range of responses that informal third parties made to victims, and how victims felt, both about the transgressor and in general, was examined. Those who forgave the transgressor tended to receive different types of informal third‐party responses than those who did not forgive, and informal third parties seemed to help victims feel better by reducing their uncertainty and increasing their sense of belongingness.