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The Relationship Among Five Factor Model of Personality, Spirituality, and Forgiveness

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The Relationship Among Five Factor Model of Personality, Spirituality, and Forgiveness International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 3, No. 2, March 2013 The Relationship among Five Factor Model of Personality, Spirituality, and Forgiveness Hafnidar neuroticism-emotional stability, extraversionintroversion, Abstract—Much of the recent study has looked at the openness-closedness to experience, relationship between five factor of personality and forgiveness. agreeableness-antagonism, and conscientiousness Recent evidence indicates that five factor of personality and undirectedness. The five factor of personality has received spirituality plays a strong role in the study of forgiveness. This some attention in previous studies of forgiveness [9]. In a study sought to determine whether personality and spirituality accounted for a significant portion of forgiveness of self and review of these studies, Neuroticism is an inhibitory forgiveness of others. Results using Bivariate Correlations characteristic of forgiveness has received empirical support models indicated that Emotional Stability was significantly [10]. Not surprisingly, angry hostility, an important facet of positively related to forgiveness; Agreeableness was positively Neuroticism, has been implicated as a consistent barrier to related to forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others. forgiveness [11]. Moreover, extraversion and conscientiousness was significantly On the other hand, Agreeableness as a fostering positively related to forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others. In order, spirituality explained a significant positively related to characteristic of forgiveness [9]. Empirical research forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others. generally supports this hypothesis, finding positive correlations between agreeableness and forgiveness of others Index Terms—Forgiveness, five-factor model of personality, [10]-[13]. However, the research findings are not entirely spirituality. consistent. For instance, Agreeableness was significantly related to receiving forgiveness from others and God but was not related to forgiving others [14]. I. INTRODUCTION Correlations between forgiveness of others and In recent years, scholars have postulated the benefits of neuroticism were negative with the exception of Brown‟s forgiveness in interpersonal relationship and mental health. study [15]. Forgiveness of others was positively related to Forgiveness as a willingness to abandon one‟s right to Extraversion and the associated facets of warmth and positive resentment, negative judgment and indifferent behavior emotions [16]. Although Walker and Gorsuch found that toward one who unjustly injures us [1]. While, the effects of individuals who were introverted were less likely to receive forgiveness can be reduced negative reactions and feelings forgiveness from others, they found no relationship between toward the offending person, desires for revenge against the forgiving others and the surgency/extraversion domain [14]. person, and general psychological symptoms [2]. In fact, Correlations between forgiveness of others and increased mental and physical health is associated with conscientiousness were mostly positive [13]. Worthington forgiveness [3]-[4]. Personality and spirituality are the also posited that Openness to Experience is a fostering important factor in study forgiveness. characteristic of forgiveness [9]. However, several studies Previous empirical research found that some views of have failed to find a relationship between Openness to spirituality are conceptually consistent with many of Experience and forgiveness of others [10]-[14]. It should be personality. Research into forgiveness may be an important noted that a negative correlation between the imagination conceptual link between religion and personality [5]. The facet of openness to experience and forgiveness of others comprehensiveness of five-factor model (FFM), but [14]. Several studies have also failed to find a relationship indicated that it could be a useful foundation from which to between forgiveness of others and Conscientiousness [10], scientifically study religion and spirituality [6]. Spirituality [12], [14]. However, a positive correlation between the showed predictive validity independent of forgiveness dutifulness facet of conscientiousness and forgiveness (i.e., [6]-[8], personality factors. The same study found that‟s forgiveness of others and receiving God forgiveness) [14]. spirituality is already embedded in personality due to B. Spirituality individual spiritual histories (Leach et al., 2004). Several other predictors of forgiveness have been established through empirical research. For example, II. PREVIOUS STUDIES REVIEWS research has shown that people who are more religious tend to value forgiveness more than those who are less religious A. The Five Factor Model of Personality [16]. Similarly, religious involvement is positively correlated The five factor model of personality consist with self-reported tendency to forgive and negatively correlated with a tendency to seek revenge [17]. Religion was included in this study in order to determine whether the Manuscript received December 20, 2012; revised February 21, 2013. five-factor model predicted forgiveness beyond religiousness. Hafnidar is with the Malikussaleh University, Lhokseumawe (e-mail: [email protected]). Dispositional forgiveness was positively correlated with DOI: 10.7763/IJSSH.2013.V3.220 167 International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 3, No. 2, March 2013 spiritual well-being and spiritual maturity [9]. The security of 2) Forgiveness scale attachment to God predicted forgiveness of others and this The Forgiveness Scale was used to measure forgiveness relation was mediated by forms of religious coping. toward a particular offender [23]. Participants were C. Present Study instructed to think about how they have responded to the person who wronged them. Participants rated their level of Given the relationship between five factor models of agreement on 15 Likert-type items, with response personality and forgiveness, and the link between spirituality possibilities ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly and forgiveness, research needs to determine the agree). Factor analysis revealed the presencen of two relationships among the three concepts. More specifically, subscales [18] : Absence of Negative and Presence of the purpose of the present study was to investigate how the Positive. Sample items include: “I can‟t stop thinking about five-factor model of personality and spirituality related to how I was wronged by this person” and “I wish for good forgiveness. Specifically, the following questions were things to happen to the person who wronged me.” For addressed: (1) What is the relationship between forgiveness purposes of this study, items were combined to form a single and five-factor model of personality? Does neuroticism has forgiveness score. Scores on the total scale can range from 15 negatively correlated with forgiveness? Does agreeableness to 75, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of has positively correlated with forgiveness? Does conscientiousness has positively correlated with forgiveness? forgiveness. Cronbach‟s alpha was adequate for the total Does extraversion has positively correlated with forgiveness? scale (.87) and the test-retest reliability for the total scale over (2) What is the relationship between spirituality and an average of 15.2 days was .80. forgiveness? Does spirituality has positively correlated with 3) Ten-item personality inventory (TIPI) forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others? Our hypothesis Personality characteristics were measured using the are emotional stability, agreeableness, extraversion, selfreport version of Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) conscientiousness will positively related to forgiveness of [24]. This instrument is based upon the five-factor model of self and forgiveness of others. Spirituality also will positively personality and has been shown to have adequate related to forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others. psychometric properties. This scale consists of 10 item. Each Finally, the present study will generate the role of item consists of two descriptors, separated by a comma, using forgiveness on the helping of professional counseling with the common stem, „„I see myself as:‟‟. Each of the five items the better design of counseling and psychotherapy to develop personality trait and spirituality to get a good relationship and was rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (disagree psychological healthy. strongly) to 7 (agree strongly). The TIPI takes about a minute to complete. Cronbach‟s alpha was adequate for the scale with the exception of Extraversion, test–retest reability was III. METHOD (.80). There are .10 to .20 points stronger than another scale such the FIPI (.68). A. Participants 4) Spirituality transcendence scale (STS). One hundred college students from Aceh, Indonesia The Spiritual Transcendence Scale is a 24-item 5-point completed questionnaires for this study. Sixty two percent of instrument consisting of three subscales: universality, prayer these were male, 38% were female. Their ages ranged from fulfillment, and connectedness. The theoretical 22 to 45 years (M = 30.43, SD = 1.287). All participants underpinnings are derived from a motivational drive declared themselves as Muslim. perspective. Reliabilities of 0.83, 0.87. and 0.64 have been B. Procedures found for the three subscales, respectively, and this study found similar reliabilities of 0.80, 0.72. and 0.62.
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