The kiss of the porcupines: From attributing responsibility to forgiving

How to maintain relatedness in the context of bring harmed by others, espec ially an intimate partner, is a fundamental human challenge. Forgiveness pr ovides a way of meeting this challenge as it removes the barrier to related ness caused by a transgression. But scientists know very little about forgi veness and its role in close relationships. This article therefore offers a conceptual analysis of forgiveness. The analysis then serves as the founda tion for an organizational framework that can be used to study forgiveness in close relationships. Finally. preliminary data are presented that speak to some of the issues introduced in the article.