Forbearance is the endurance of negativity from others or the world without responding in kind. Unfortunately, the transmission of negativity is ubiquitous among people at every level of social organization. Consequently, religion and the humanistic sciences view forbearance as critical to the well-being of persons and society. This paper introduces a scientific approach to the analysis of forbearance. First, it provides an understanding of the dynamic, yet information-based, context within which forbearance is relevant. Second, it presents a model of forbearance as one aspect of a spectrum of responses to negativity and, ultimately, as an ensemble of energy-modulating, information-based operators.