Objective: To explore the relationship between awe and revenge motivation and its
mechanism based on revenge theory. Methods: Totally 585 subjects were selected and tested with the awe
subscale of Dispositional Positive Emotion Scale, Heartland Forgiveness Scale, Transgression Related
Interpersonal Motivation Scale 18 Item Form and Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Results: (1) awe was
positively correlated with empathy and forgiveness (r=0.41, 0.37; p<0.01), and negatively correlated
with revenge motivation (r=-0.29, p<0.01). Empathy was positively correlated with forgiveness (r=0.32,
p<0.01), negatively correlated with revenge motivation (r=-0.09, p<0.01). Forgiveness was negatively
correlated with revenge motivation (r=-0.23, p<0.01). (2) Forgiveness can play an intermediary role in
the relationship between awe and revenge motivation (95CI: -0.06 ~ -0.01). (3) Empathy moderated the
former half of the mediating effect (B=-0.20, t=-7.32, p<0.01). Conclusion: Forgiveness mediates the
relationship between awe and revenge motivation, and this mediating effect is moderated by empathy.