Sorry, Not Sorry: Effects of Different Types of Apologies and Self-Monitoring on Non-verbal Behaviors

This study examines the effects of different types of apologies and individual differences in self-monitoring on non-verbal apology behaviors involving a server apologizing to a customer. Apologies divide into sincere apologies that reflect genuine recognition of fault, and instrumental apologies, made for achieving a personal goal such as avoiding punishment or rejection by others. Self-monitoring (public-performing and other-directedness) were also examined. Fifty-three female undergraduate students participated in the experiment. Participants were assigned randomly to either a sincere apology condition or an instrumental apology condition. They watched the film clip of the communication between a customer and server and then role-played how they would apologize if they were the server. Participants’ non-verbal behavior during the role-play was videotaped. The results showed an interaction between the apology condition and self-monitoring on non-verbal behaviors. When public-performing was low, gaze avoidance was more likely to occur with a sincere apology than an instrumental apology. There was no difference when the public-performing was high. Facial displays of apology were apparent in the instrumental apology compared to the sincere apology. This tendency became more conspicuous with increased public-performing. Our results indicated that the higher the public-performing, the more participants tried to convey the feeling of apology by combining a direct gaze and facial displays in an instrumental apology. On the other hand, results suggest that lower levels of public-performing elicited less immediacy in offering a sincere apology. Further studies are needed to determine whether these results apply to other conflict resolution situations.

To Err Is Human(-oid): How Do Consumers React to Robot Service Failure and Recovery?

Robots are the next wave in service technology; however, this advanced technology is not perfect. This research examines how social perceptions regarding the warmth and competence of service robots influence consumer reactions to service failures and recovery efforts by robots. We argue that humanoid (vs. nonhumanoid) service robots are more strongly associated with warmth (whereas competence does not differ). This tendency to expect greater warmth from humanoid robots has important consequences for service firms: (i) consumers are more dissatisfied due to lack of warmth following a process failure caused by a humanoid (vs. nonhumanoid; Study 1); (ii) humanoids (but not nonhumanoids) can recover a service failure by themselves via sincere apology, restoring perceptions of warmth (Study 2A); (iii) humanoids (but not nonhumanoids) can also effectively provide explanations as a recovery tactic (Study 2B); and, importantly, (iv) human intervention can be used to mitigate dissatisfaction following inadequate recovery by a nonhumanoid robot (Study 3), supporting the notion of human-robot collaboration. Taken together, this research offers theoretical implications for robot anthropomorphism and practical implications for firms employing service robots.

History of the Comfort Women Movement

I trace the history of the comfort women movement, describing what activists in Japan have done collectively for the movement’s major objectives, the Japanese government’s sincere apology and legal compensations. In doing so, I provide sociopolitical contexts for understanding the activist narratives, which are about what they have thought and felt personally. The activists have modified strategies according to the shifting positions of the government and the international community and the changing public attitude in Japanese society toward the issue. I discuss seven topics chronologically ordered with some overlaps in their historical periods: the rise of the movement; the spread of the movement; the Asian Women’s Fund; the Women’s International War Crimes Tribunal on Japan’s Military Sexual Slavery; lawsuits; legislative resolution; and fighting in isolated Japan.

Strategies of Conflict Resolution and Mitigation: The Potential of the Speech Act of Apologizing in the Perspective of Intercultural Pragmatics

The article considers the linguistic and communicative nature of an apology (a request for forgiveness) as a corrective action that is aimed at preventing or mitigating conflict. By analyzing speech situations from Russian and Austrian culture and their illustrations in literary sources, it is established that apology occupies an intermediate position between performative and non-performative utterance. There have been recorded the situations, where even serious damage can be removed by an apology or an apology in combination with compensation. There are three categories of apologies: metacommunicative, conventional and substantive apologies. The latter two are described in the article. The hypothesis of the study is substantiated by the thesis that the apology depends not only on the severity of the damage, but also on the traditions of culture and peculiarities of the communicative situation. This issue is one of the insufficiently studied questions of linguistics. The article allocates the cultural universals of apologetic speech actions and culturally specific features of apology situations in Russian and Austrian cultures. It is shown that in the sphere of politics, even decades after the infliction of serious harm, a sincere apology for an insult or violation of the norms of behavior, uttered by the responsible person or his descendant, can be the basis for improving inter-state relations.

Disclosure after Complication in the Operating Room

Patients and families overwhelmingly want to be informed regarding matters related to poor outcomes and medical errors. After the occurrence of a medical error, most patients and families highly value an honest and transparent disclosure of the details as well as a sincere apology from the parties responsible regardless of the degree of apparent harm. When disclosing a medical error to a parent or patient, an organized approach using a truthful and compassionate discussion as the backbone is the most prudent strategy. Additionally, effective disclosure practices can decrease legal liability. This chapter discusses the differences between medical errors and poor clinical outcomes, the distinctions between near misses and sentinel events, the indications for disclosure of medical errors without apparent harm as well as the appropriate use of apology, and an approach for the effective disclosure of a pediatric medical error to a parent.

Investigating the relationships between unfaithful parent’s apologies, adult children’s third-party forgiveness, and communication of forgiveness following parental infidelity

Guided by theorizing on forgiveness, this study examined the impact of communication on the third-party forgiveness process for adult children following the discovery of their parents’ infidelity. Results from a series of parallel mediated regression and partial correlation analyses advance theorizing on parental infidelity and third-party forgiveness, such that they inform readers that adult children are generally more likely to forgive their unfaithful parent for engaging in infidelity when unfaithful parents offer a sincere apology to them for engaging in this transgression. Two variables—empathy and attributions—were identified as significant mediators of the third-party forgiveness process. Last, the relationships between third-party forgiveness and communicative forgiveness granting tactics were examined. These findings provide a greater understanding of the impact of communication on the forgiveness process, the communication surrounding parental infidelity, and third-party forgiveness.

Responsibility and Blame

Issues of responsibility and blame are very rarely discussed in public health training, but are seldom forgotten in practice. Blame often follows a crisis, and leaders of health agencies should be able to think strategically about how to handle such accusations before being faced with the pain of dealing with them. When the health agency is not at all at fault, officials can make the case for a strong public health response without reservation. When the agency is entirely to blame, a quick and sincere apology can allow the agency to retain credibility. The most difficult situation is when the agency is partly to blame. The goal in this situation is to accept the appropriate amount of blame while working quickly to resolve the crisis.