Personality and demographic factors predicting willingness to forgive among Mafikeng residents

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to understand, explore and investigate the personality (using Eysenck 's three personality traits of Psychoticism, Neuroticism and Extraversion) and demographic factors (age, gender, religion, marital status and educational status) predicting willingness to forgive among Mafikeng residents. The hypotheses investigated were 1: that personality factors (P, E and N) will influence people 's willingness to forgive . 2: that demographic variables (such as age, being religious, marital status and one's level of education) of participants will influence their willingness to forgive. Method: Through a convenience sampling method, data were collected from a sample of 250 residents living in Mafikeng, North West Province. The design of the study was cross-sectional. Copies of a questionnaire containing three sections (A, B and C) were given out to participants. Section A measured the demographic determinants of the respondents, Section B measured aspects of the respondents ' personality such as Psychoticism (P) , Extraversion (E) and Neuroticism (N). Section C measured the willingness to forgive of the respondents. Respondents ranged between 18 and 68 years with a mean age of 28.4 (SD= 12.3). Forty percent were males and 60 % were females. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relative contribution of personality and demographic variables. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method showed that the overall model was significant, adjusted R square = .089, F (2, 211) = 11.460, P< .001. Thus, Extraversion and Post- Matric variables explained 8% of the total variance on willingness to forgive. Both hypotheses were partially supported since the only factors able to predict willingness to forgive as indicated by Table 2 was Extraversion (E) a personality factor and Post- Matric (a demographic factor, one's educational level). Conclusion: The study concluded that while people with Post Matric level of education and extraverted people tend to forgive, there is still a need to investigate personality trait variables in future studies.