A sincere apology allows you to let people know you're not proud of what you did, and won't be repeating the behavior. That lets people know you're the kind of person who is generally careful not to hurt others and puts the focus on your better virtues, rather than on your worst mistakes.

Should you apologize if you didn't do anything wrong?

It's important to remember that apologizing is not an admission of guilt; it's an admission of responsibility. ... Apologizing for the pain and difficulty of the current situation, even if you didn't cause it, shows you place a higher value on the other person than you do on the need to be right.

Why do people apologize when it's not their fault?

In other words, instead of seeing conflict as an opportunity to understand each other's perspective, work through the issue, and become closer, you see it as “being hurt, shamed, or emotionally abandoned.” Sometimes, we over-apologize because we're afraid to own up to messing up, Saidipour said.