Apologies, Expectations, and Violations: An Analysis of Confirmed and Disconfirmed Expectations for Responses to Apologies

After hurting someone, individuals will sometimes apologize. Research has not explored the degree to which individuals expect their apologies to be accepted and the reactions individuals have when apologies are not accepted. The researchers use Expectancy Violation Theory to understand the relationship between expectations, responses to apologies. The researchers gathered data on hurtful events using critical event questionnaires, and results indicated that while accepting an apology is positively evaluated by apologizers, this relationship is moderated by their expectations of acceptance prior to the actual response to the apology. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.