The evolution of the propensity to forgive an offense was studied in a
sample of 236 people from various age groups. The effect of a number
of circumstances connected with the offense was considered: intent to
harm, severity of consequences, cancellation of consequences, social p
roximity to the offender, apologies from the offender, and the attitud
e of others. The method was an application of information integration
theory. A global increase in the propensity to forgive from adolescenc
e to old age was observed. Several interactions between age and circum
stances were found: (a) The effect of the cancellation factor was high
er in young adolescents and in the very old than in the middle-aged, (
b) the attitude of others and the restoration of harmony factors were
important only in adolescents. Finally, the structure of the Forgivene
ss schema was shown to be an additive one, regardless of the age of th
e participants.