Victims' Responses to Apologies: The Effects of Offender Responsibility and Offense Severity

Because they impose constraints on those who receive them, apologies are seldom rejected (Bennett & Dewberry, in press). It was hypothesized that two variables, degree of offender responsibility and outcome severity, determine whether an apology is rejected. Subjects in Scotland role played the victim of a negative event in which offender responsibility and outcome severity were independently manipulated. The findings provided substantial support for the hypothesis.