This is hidden brain.
I'm Shankar Vedantam.
I'm sorry.
It's one of the simplest things to say and also one of the hardest.
That's especially true when we're apologizing to the most important people in our lives.
When we've wronged a parent or a partner or a close friend, working up the courage to make amends can sometimes feel really hard.
Why is that?
Why do many of us find it difficult to apologize, especially to the people we love?
This week on hidden brain, we conclude our healing 2.0 series with a look at the psychology of apologies.
Well, consider the mental barriers that make it hard for us to acknowledge when we have done something wrong.
The changing cultural expectations around apologies, and why it may be useful to think of an apology as a gift.
Think about the last time someone wronged you.
Did they apologize now?
Think about the last time you you wronged someone else.
Did you apologize?
At the University of Queensland in Australia, Tyler Okimoto studies the psychology of apologies.
He examines the transformative power of apologies and what happens in our minds when we say, I'm sorry.
Tyler Okimoto, welcome to Hidden Brain.
Thank you, Shankar.
Glad to be here.