Why You Should Stop Saying Sorry, According to Science

Apologizing after hurt feeling may not have the effect that we want on people. It may have the reverse affect of hurting people even more. Dartmouth College and University of Texas researchers have drawn this conclusion in a recent study. Rejected people in the study felt even more anger than before the apology and sought revenge. Not only that, rejected people may not be ready to forgive once the other party has apologized. Some rejected people do not want to admit their feelings were hurt.

Key Takeaways:

  • Apologies may actually anger people and have the reverse affect causing them to seek revenge
  • Regardless of sincerity, when people receive apologies, they feel they have to forgive the person
  • It may take time for people to forgive others so saying sorry might not help

“Apologies can actually anger people and trigger them to seek revenge, the researchers found. In another experiment, they conducted face-to-face rejections in order to understand how rejectees actually felt after an incident.”

Read more: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/300055

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