Remorse: Psychological and Jurisprudential Perspectives

Remorse is a powerful, important and yet academically neglected emotion. This book, one of the very few extended examinations of remorse, draws on psychology, law and philosophy to present a unique interdisciplinary study of this intriguing emotion. The psychological chapters examine the fundamental nature of remorse, its interpersonal effects, and its relationship with regret, guilt and shame. A practical focus is also provided in an examination of the place of remorse in psychotherapeutic interventions with criminal offenders. The book's jurisprudential chapters explore the problem of how offender remorse is proved in court and the contentious issues concerning the effect that remorse - and its absence - should have on sentencing criminal offenders. The legal and psychological perspectives are then interwoven in a discussion of the role of remorse in restorative justice. In Remorse: Psychological and Jurisprudential Perspectives, Proeve and Tudor bring together insights of neighbouring disciplines to advance our understanding of remorse. It will be of interest to theoreticians in psychology, law and philosophy, and will be of benefit to practising psychologists and lawyers.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Scenes and stories of remorse; Analysing remorse; a philosophical approach; Remorse and related emotions: a psychological approach; The interpersonal effects of remorse; Proving remorse; Remorse as a mitigating factor in sentencing; Absence of remorse as an aggravating factor in sentencing; Moral emotions and psychological interventions with offenders; Remorse and restorative justice conferencing; Looking forwards with a backwards-looking emotion; Appendices; References; Index.