Emotional Faces and Forgiveness: A Qualitative Investigation in Pakistani Adults

Abstract

This qualitative study explored how emotional facial expressions shape the willingness to forgive among adults in Pakistan while keeping cultural and religious meanings in mind A total of forty eight participants between 20 and 40 years old took part in four group interviews and all conversations were carried out in Urdu The study used culturally adapted photographs that showed sad happy and neutral faces to spark reflection Questions were taken from well-known US measures like TRIM 12 IRI EC and FEEL but they were turned into open-ended prompts so that people could speak freely in their own words Thematic analysis brought forward four main ideas Sadness often opened the door to forgiveness Many participants described forgiveness as a cultural and religious duty Stress influenced how people noticed and interpreted emotional expressions Empathy made the movement toward forgiveness stronger and more meaningful Each theme held several subthemes and these were supported through direct quotes from participants The findings suggest that emotional recognition works together with personal traits and cultural values to guide forgiveness decisions in Pakistan The study offers practical insight for therapy conflict resolution and educational settings with an emphasis on approaches that respect cultural and religious contexts

Keywords: forgiveness, emotional facial expressions, empathy, qualitative research, Pakistan