Description

The Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTF) was developed by Brown (2003) as a brief measure of dispositional forgiveness. It assesses how individuals typically respond when they are hurt, offended, or treated unfairly by others.

The scale focuses on the ability to overcome interpersonal offences, reduce resentment, and disengage from persistent negative thoughts. It does not assess forgiveness in relation to a specific incident or reconciliation with an offender. Instead, it measures an individual’s general tendency to forgive.

Structure and Scoring

The original scale consists of four statements rated on a seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 “strongly disagree” to 7 “strongly agree.”

Two negatively worded items are reverse-scored. The scores are then summed or averaged to produce an overall score. Higher scores indicate a stronger tendency to forgive, whereas lower scores reflect greater difficulty overcoming offences and a stronger tendency to hold grudges.

The TTF is considered a unidimensional measure and does not contain separate subscales. No universal diagnostic cut-off scores have been established. Results should therefore be interpreted according to the characteristics of the sample and appropriate comparative data.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the TTF is to assess individual differences in dispositional forgiveness. It can be used to investigate associations between forgiveness and psychological well-being, depression, anger, resentment, empathy, aggression, life satisfaction, and interpersonal relationship quality.

The scale may also be used in social and clinical research or to evaluate psychoeducational and counselling interventions. However, it should not be used independently as a diagnostic instrument.

Data Analysis

Analysis of TTF data may include descriptive statistics, examination of score distributions, and comparisons across demographic or social groups.

Internal consistency can be evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha or McDonald’s omega. Because the scale contains only four items, reliability should be interpreted alongside inter-item correlations rather than relying exclusively on a single reliability coefficient.

Its proposed unidimensional structure may be examined through confirmatory factor analysis. Construct validity can be investigated by examining associations with related variables such as vengeance, empathy, aggression, rumination, depression, and psychological well-being.

Psychometric Evaluation

The original studies provided evidence of convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Participants’ self-reports showed agreement with ratings provided by their romantic partners. A stronger tendency to forgive was also associated with reduced accessibility of offence-related memories and lower levels of depressive symptoms.

Subsequent research provided additional support for the scale’s validity. Nevertheless, each new linguistic or cultural adaptation requires forward and backward translation, pilot testing, and renewed evaluation of reliability, factor structure, and measurement equivalence.

Limitations

As a self-report instrument, the TTF may be affected by social desirability, self-perception, and participants’ willingness to acknowledge resentful reactions. Due to its brevity, it does not capture every cognitive, emotional, and behavioural dimension of forgiveness.

Forgiveness should not be equated with forgetting, excusing an offence, or necessarily restoring a relationship. For a more comprehensive assessment, the TTF may be combined with measures of offence-specific forgiveness, vengeance, rumination, and reconciliation.

References

Berry, J. W., Worthington, E. L., Jr., Parrott, L., O’Connor, L. E., & Wade, N. G. (2001). Dispositional forgivingness: Development and construct validity of the Transgression Narrative Test of Forgivingness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(10), 1277–1290.

Brown, R. P. (2003). Measuring individual differences in the tendency to forgive: Construct validity and links with depression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(6), 759–771.

Brown, R. P., & Phillips, A. (2005). Letting bygones be bygones: Further evidence for the validity of the Tendency to Forgive Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(3), 627–638.

McCullough, M. E. (2000). Forgiveness as human strength: Theory, measurement, and links to well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19(1), 43–55.

Worthington, E. L., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). Handbook of forgiveness. Routledge.