Ch. 8 Apologies

I think the section on apologies is something everyone can relate to. Everyone has apologized for something they did on accident or purpose. An apology is when an individual accepts responsibility for his or her behavior while asking to be pardoned. For small offenses such as bumping into someone we can simply express guilt and others will find this acceptable. There are two forms of simple apologies and they are concession ( “ I was wrong”) and perfunctory (I’m sorry; oh, pardon me”). However sometimes people have more complex apologies and they refer to these apologies as an full apology. A full apology can contain these five elements 1) an expression of guilt, remorse, or embarrassment 2) recognition of the inappropriate conduct and acknowledgement that negative sanctions apply for having committed the action 3) rejection of the inappropriate conduct 4) acknowledgment of the appropriate conduct and a promise to behave in the future and 5) penance, restitution, or an offer to compensate the victim.

I can say that back in high school I made a poor choice and really hurt a friend of mine. It was really hard apologizing because I already knew what I did and I was embarrassed by my actions. I can say that it was a full apology and my apology included all five elements of a full apology. I must say though I felt so much better after I apologized. Although we didn’t remain close friends anymore I felt that by apologizing I was able to ease the tension between us and it was no longer awkward to be around each other.