Can a leopard change its spots? The effects of implicit theories of personality on forgiveness via attributions of behavioral stability

People differ in their implicit theories about the malleability of key individual attributes. While some people hold the view that traits are fixed (entity theorists), others believe that they can be changed (incremental theorists). As these beliefs set up an interpretive framework for forming impressions and shaping attributions, they may affect victims’ responses to interpersonal transgressions. With two studies, we investigate how victims’...