Exploring the Association among Social Cognition, Forgiveness and Dispositional Mindfulness of Young Adults

Abstract

Background: Social cognition is key to both forgiveness and mindfulness. Forgiveness requires perspective-taking, seeing the situation from the offender’s viewpoint. Mindfulness, through awareness of our own biases, helps us detach from negative emotions and cultivate compassion, both crucial for letting go of resentment. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to explore the nature of the association between social cognition and forgiveness and dispositional mindfulness, while also investigating the gender difference and difference among students who stay at home and away from home in terms of social cognition, forgiveness, and dispositional mindfulness. Methods: A descriptive survey research design was used with convenient sampling. A total of 120 young adults were selected in this study. Five psychological tools were used for the current study. Descriptive statistics for all the variables and for all groups, Spearman rank correlation to identify the association among variables, the Mann-Whitney U test, and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used to compare groups. Results and conclusions: The result indicates a positive association among empathy and forgiveness, attribution style for positive events and forgiveness, and dispositional mindfulness, whereas a negative association between difficulty in emotional regulations and dispositional mindfulness has also been noticed, and attribution style for negative events and forgiveness is negatively associated. Gender differences in forgiveness, perceived distress, emotional regulation, and global-specific attribution styles for positive events have been found, and differences in perceived distress and global-specific attribution styles for negative events have also been seen among students staying at home and hostels.