How Relational Bonds Influence Strategies for Coping with Guilt
Abstract
Many studies have shown that guilt is an important moral emotion that motivates reparative actions in order to maintain positive interpersonal relationships. However, when the victim of an offence does not have a close relationship with the transgressor or when the intensity of the whole experience is irrelevant or excessive, people can adopt different strategies to cope with their feelings of guilt. The paper aims to investigate the relation between interpersonal relationships, responsibility taking elicited by moral transgressions and coping strategies. Results show that experiences of guilt vary on the basis of the degree of closeness with the harmed person. The closeness of the relational bond between transgressor and victim also affects the global intensity of the experience of guilt (made of a set of correlated emotions), thus favoring the choice of self or other-oriented strategies to cope with guilt. Global low intensities of guilt tend to favor self-oriented strategies, while wrongdoings that elicit high emotional intensities are often considered too serious and thus irreparable. Medium intensities of guilt experiences are more frequently managed through adaptive, other-oriented strategies.
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Guilt typically arises in communal relationships with established emotional closeness.
“However, guilt typically arises in communal relationships with established emotional closeness (Nencini and Meneghini 2013).”
From Emotional Manipulation by AI Companions (2025) · cites this paper as Nencini and Meneghini 2013
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- Authors
- Nencini, A., & Meneghini, A. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Verona (IT)
- Corresponding author
- Meneghini, Anna Maria
- Venue
- Journal of Relationships Research
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2013-10-25
- Volume
- 4
- ISSN
- 1838-0956 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2616080961
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2
- FWCI
- 0.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Relationships Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Forgiveness and Related Behaviors
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- Keywords
- guilt, coping strategies, interpersonal relationships, relationship closeness, moral transgression, responsibility taking, emotional intensity, moral emotions
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