Empathy plays a prominent role in the process of forgiveness. When we empathize with others by understanding their perspective and experiences, we are able to replace negative views of the offender with a broader understanding of them as a flawed human in a given situation. This allows us to set aside negative emotions like anger and promote positive emotions like compassion. Research has found a relationship between empathy and forgiveness, with those higher in empathy more likely to forgive. While forgiveness is a personal decision, empathy building can help injured parties work through hurts to potentially forgive in an appropriate manner.