PSYC 710
Week 5 Discussion Thread: LOE and
Integration in Action
This is a graded discussion: 60 points are possible
In this module and the next module, you are watching videos of professionals in the field who
represent different viewpoints described in Johnson’s text. In this discussion, we are going to
discuss the differences between the Levels of Explanation perspective and the Integration
perspective. Specifically, please answer the following three questions:
1. How did Dr. Worthington demonstrate a Levels of Explanation approach in his talk on
forgiveness?
Hurts are accompanied by a sense of injustice. The bigger the hurt, the more the injustice.
The more the injustice, the harder the offense is to forgive.
There are a lot of ways we can live with injustice. The biblical solution is to turn it over
to God, or forbearance.
Thinking too hard about injustice will cause unforgiveness. It is better to forgive because
it is something good and Jesus says to forgive. Also, forgiveness is better for physical and
mental health. Forgiveness leads to better relationships and improves our spiritual life.
Unforgiveness can impede our spiritual life.
What is forgiveness?
Forgiveness is not forbearing, it is not condoning what was done. It’s not reconciling with
a person, which requires two people. Forgiveness is not about the relationship, and it is
not forgetting. It is not justifying or excuse what was done.
Forgiveness has two types.
It is a decision about how we intend to act toward the person, such as not holding a
grudge, getting revenge, and paying him back. I am going to treat this person as a person
of value. But we can make a decision to forgive and still think about what the person did
and get right back upset. This suggests that there is emotional unforgiveness even if we
make the decision to forgive.
Emotional forgiveness is the replacement of negative unforgiving emotions with positive
other-oriented emotions. Emotional forgiveness is different from decisional forgiveness,
and it is different from reconciliation. Reconciliation is restoring trust in a relationships
where trust has been damaged. It requires two people to be trustworthy if one person is
not trustworthy, it would be dangerous to do that.
PSYC 710
The bible tells us to forgive others but it doesn’t tell us exactly how to do that.
There is a method of how to forgive. The REACH forgiveness method.
Recall the hurt
Empathize with the person that hurt you
Give an Altruistic gift of forgiveness
Commit to forgive an issue
Hold on to that forgiveness when you doubt
In Recap
a. When wrong, we calculate an injustice gap
b. There are many ways to handle injustice, biblical and nonbiblical
c. Forgiveness is best for handling unforgiveness
d. There are two types of forgiveness, a decision, and emotional forgiveness
e. Both decision and emotional forgiveness are different from reconciliation
f. The bible exhorts forgiveness, but it doesn’t tell us much about how.
g. We can use the five steps of REACH for faster and more thorough forgiveness
In Dr. Worthington’s explanation concerning forgiveness, he explained the way we look and
injustice and how it makes us feel according to the level of the injustice. He explained that there
are many ways to handle injustice, including biblical and non-biblical ways. He also mentioned
that forgiveness is the best way to handle unforgiveness. Dr. Worthington also talked about the
two types of forgiveness, which are decisional and emotional forgiveness. The problem with
decisional forgiveness is that even though we decide to forgive, emotions of what was done to us
can still bring back up the feeling. Also that we cannot reconcile unless both parties choose to do
so, and there must be trust on both sides. Basically, once we make the decision to forgive, we
must have emotional forgiveness also and this seems to be the hardest one.
In the REACH method, which is a five-step method, Dr. Worthington gives these steps, which
are tools to help not only to forgive but to also retain that forgiveness. We recall the hurt and then
empathize with the one who did the hurting. We forgive the person selflessly and we commit to
it. Lastly, we hold on to forgiveness even when we may doubt.
2. How did Dr. McMinn demonstrate an Integration approach in his talk on Positive
Psychology and the church?
Dr. McMinn talks about the integration of positive psychology and Christianity and he
started it at a time when many in the psychology field did not see an integration between
the two. He brings out how psychology and Christianity can benefit from each other. Also
how the church can bring in why we should forgive in a time when people are more
PSYC 710
focused self. I like where Dr. McMinn talks about how there is more focus on forgiving
than there is on seeking forgiveness. He talked about the positivity of gratitude and how it
motivates us. He talks about how young people are taught to choose between faith and
science, but in fact, they can choose both. He does tend to advocate for a balance between
Christianity and psychology by integration. He also did touch on the benefits of health
and mental health when forgiving.
3. What did you learn about the distinction between these two approaches to studying
psychological phenomena (LOE and Integration) from watching their talks?
LOE seemed to give steps on how to approach forgiveness, which s what Dr. Worthington
discussed and it was more cut and dry in dealing with the one issue, which was
forgiveness.
Integration, however, in this case, dealt with the integration of Christianity and
psychology, which to me is much broader. It did not deal with steps to follow, but just the
acceptance of integrating the two, which even now is still not accepted by many
