Personality pro-social behavior and empathy as predictors of children's forgiveness and moral judgment

INTRODUCTION The scientific study of positive psychological constructs has become popular among scientists of interdisciplinary orientations in recent past. Forgiveness is one of the many such constructs that has attracted the researchers across the globe for its ubiquitous nature and a plethora of behaviours and performance, it can impact and closely linked with for people of all socio-cultural affiliations, age groups, professions and ideologies. It has been posited that forgiveness is a desirable human strength characterized by a complex set of cognitive, affective and behavioural attributes of people. Forgiveness has been assumed to be the subject matter of religion, ethics and philosophy for long and its scientific study of forgiveness have begun in the context of developmental psychology and clinical psychology. The establishment of Positive Psychology in 2000 was a great precursor behind the beginning of positive psychological constructs like forgiveness. The study of forgiveness finds its usefulness in understanding the negative consequences that attribute self, other person and situations responsible. Criminal events, interpersonal, interpersonal and social conflicts are the realities that most people have to face in their life. Forgiveness carries significance for these negative events that are universal and binding almost to all. The researchers have suggested forgiveness to be a key component of renouncing resentment and may involve reconciliation (Thompson, & Snyder, 2003). Moreover, forgiveness reflects positive interpersonal relationships with the capacity to,