Human beings are driven to maintain lasting relationships, but interpersonal transgressions are inevitable and threaten social bonds. For victims, one post-transgression response is harbouring a grudge against the transgressor. Recent qualitative work defines grudges as sustained feelings of hurt and anger that dissipate over time but can be easily reignited when needed (van Monsjou et al., 2021). Based on this definition, we predicted that hurt and anger are both significant contributors to grudges. However, previous research indicates that hurt can facilitate forgiveness, whereas anger can escalate conflicts (Lemay et al., 2012), suggesting that the relation between these emotions and grudge holding is unclear. To investigate the interrelationship (Study 1 & 2) and the mechanism explaining the associations of hurt and anger and grudge holding (Study 2), two nonexperimental studies were conducted on community sample (Study 1, N = 174) and undergraduate sample (Study 2, N = 427). In Study 1, participants’ self-reported hurt and anger interacted to predict their grudges, such that those with intense hurt and anger (+1 SD) showed stronger grudges than others. In Study 2, composite variables of hurt (α = .85) and anger (α = .75) were created and tested. The moderated relationship was consistent with Study 1. Finally, Study 2 revealed that a negative evaluation of the transgressor explained the moderated relationship. The current research extends the social motivation literature by considering the interaction between hurt and anger and empirically testing the theory of grudge holding.

Authors:
Jingyuan Li, York University, Canada
Jewy Ferrer, York University, Canada
Dmytro Rebrov, York University, Canada
Tomoe Nakagaki, York University, Canada
Ward Struthers, York University, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Jingyuan Li is a University Doctoral Student at York University in Canada

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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