In two studies, the authors investigated the associations between interpersonal forgiveness and psychological well-being. Cross-sectional and prospective multilevel analyses demonstrated that increases in forgiveness (measured as fluctuations in individuals' avoidance, revenge, and benevolence motivations toward their transgressors) were related to within-persons increases in psychological well-being (measured as more satisfaction with life, more positive mood, less negative mood, and fewer physical symptoms). Moreover, forgiveness was more strongly linked to well-being for people who reported being closer and more committed to their partners before the transgression and for people who reported that their partners apologized and made amends for the transgression. Evidence for the reverse causal model, that increases in well-being were related to increases in forgiveness, was also found. However, changes in feelings of closeness toward the partner appeared to account for the associations of forgiveness with well-being, but not vice versa.
Aron, A., Aron, E.N., & Smollan, D. (1992). Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the structure of interpersonal closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 596-612.
2.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A. (1986). The moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
3.
Bartone, P.T., Ursano, R.J., Wright, K.M., & Ingraham, L.H. (1989). The impact of a military air disaster on the health of assistance workers. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 317-328.
4.
Baumeister, R.F., & Leary, M.R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin,117, 497-529.
5.
Brown, R.P. (2003). Measuring individual differences in the tendency to forgive: Construct validity and links with depression. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 759-771.
Cacioppo, J.T., Hawkley, L.C., Ernst, J.M., Burleson, M., Berntson, G.G., Nouriani, B., et al. (2006). Loneliness within a nomological net: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Research in Personality , 40, 1054-1085.
8.
de Waal, F.B.M. (2000). Primates—A natural heritage of conflict resolution. Science, 289, 586-590.
9.
Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75.
10.
Emmons, R.A. (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 62, 292-300.
11.
Fincham, F.D. (2000). The kiss of the porcupines: From attributing responsibility to forgiving. Personal Relationships, 7, 1-23.
Freedman, S.R., & Enright, R.D. (1996). Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 983-992.
14.
Hamilton, W.D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. Journal of TheoreticalBiology, 7, 17-52.
15.
Hebl, J.H., & Enright, R.D. (1993). Forgiveness as a psychotherapeutic goal with elderly females. Psychotherapy, 30, 658-667.
16.
Hedeker, D. (2004). An introduction to growth modeling. In D. Kaplan (Ed.), The Sage handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences (pp. 215-234). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Hodgins, H.S., & Liebeskind, E. (2003). Apology versus defense: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39, 297-316.
18.
House, J.S., Landis, K.R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241, 540-545.
19.
Karremans, J., & Van Lange, P.A.M. (2004). Back to caring after being hurt: The role of forgiveness. European Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 207-227.
20.
Karremans, J.C., Van Lange, P.A.M., Ouwerkerk, J.W., & Kluwer, E.S. (2003). When forgiving enhances psychological well-being: The role of interpersonal commitment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 1011-1026.
21.
Kelley, H., & Thibault, J.W. (1978). Interpersonal relationships: A theory of interdependence. New York: John Wiley.
22.
Kenny, D.A., Korchmaros, J.D., & Bolger, N. (2003). Lower level mediation in multilevel models. Psychological Methods, 8, 115-128.
23.
Korchmaros, J.D., & Kenny, D.A. (2003). Step by step procedure for estimating lower-level mediation in random-effects multilevel models using HLM5 .Unpublished manuscript.
24.
Krause, N., & Ellison, C.G. (2003). Forgiveness by god, forgiveness of others, and psychological well-being in late life. Journal of the Scientific Study ofReligion, 42, 77-94.
25.
Krull, J.L., & MacKinnon, D.P. (2001). Multilevel modeling of individual and group level mediated effects. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 36, 249-277.
26.
Lawler, K.A., Younger, J.W., Piferi, R.L., Billington, E., Jobe, R., Edmondson, K., et al. (2003). A change of heart: Cardiovascular correlates of forgiveness in response to interpersonal conflict. Journal of BehavioralMedicine, 26, 373-393.
27.
Leary, M.R. (2004). The sociometer, self-esteem, and the regulation of interpersonal behavior. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 373-391). New York: Guilford.
28.
McCullough, M.E., Bellah, C.G., Kilpatrick, S.D., & Johnson, J.L. (2001). Vengefulness: Relationships with forgiveness, rumination, well-being, and the Big Five. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 601-610.
29.
McCullough, M.E., Bono, G., & Root, L.M. (2007). Rumination, affect, and forgiveness: Three longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 490-505.
30.
McCullough, M.E., Fincham, F.D., & Tsang, J. (2003). Forgiveness, forbearance, and time: The temporal unfolding of transgression-related interpersonal motivations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 540-557.
31.
McCullough, M.E., & Hoyt, W.T. (2002). Transgression-related motivational dispositions: Personality substrates of forgiveness and their links to the Big Five. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1556-1573.
32.
McCullough, M.E., Rachal, K.C., Sandage, S.J., Worthington, E.L., Jr. , Brown, S.W., & Hight, T.L. (1998). Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships. II: Theoretical elaboration and measurement . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1586-1603.
33.
McCullough, M.E., Worthington, E.L., Jr. , & Rachal, K.C. (1997). Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 321-336.
34.
Nesse, R.M. (2001). Natural selection and the capacity for commitment . In R. M. Nesse (Ed.), Evolution and the capacity for commitment (pp. 1—36). New York : Russell Sage.
35.
Nezlek, J.B. (2001). Multilevel random coefficient analyses of event-and interval-contingent data in social and personality psychology research. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 771-785.
36.
Ohbuchi, K., Kameda, M., & Agarie, N. (1989). Apology as aggression control: Its role in mediating appraisal of and responses to harm. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 219-227.
37.
Poloma, M.M., & Gallup, G.H. (1991). Unless you forgive others: Prayer and forgiveness . In M. M. Poloma & G. H. Gallup (Eds.), Varieties of prayer (pp. 85-106). Philadelphia: Trinity Press.
38.
Preacher, K.J., & Leonardelli, G.J. (2001, March). Calculation for the Sobel test: An interactive calculation tool for mediation tests [Computer software]. Available from http://www.unc.edu/~preacher/sobel/sobel.htm
39.
Raudenbush, S.W., Bryk, A., Cheong, Y.F., & Congdon, R. (2000). HLM 5: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling . Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International.
40.
Reis, H.T., Sheldon, K.M., Gable, S.L., Roscoe, J., & Ryan, R.M. (2000). Daily well-being: The role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , 26(4), 419-435.
41.
Rusbult, C.E., Verette, J., Whitney, G.A., Slovik, L.F., & Lipkus, I. (1991). Accommodation processes in close relationships: Theory and preliminary empirical evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 53-78.
42.
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
43.
Seybold, K.S., Hill, P.C., Neumann, J.K., & Chi, D.S. (2001). Physiological and psychological correlates of forgiveness. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 20(3), 250-259.
44.
Sobel, M.E. (1982). Asymptotic intervals for indirect effects in structural equations models. In S. Leinhart (Ed.), Sociological methodology1982 (pp. 290-312). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
45.
Trivers, R.L. (1971). The evolution of reciprocal altruism. Quarterly Review of Biology, 46, 35-57.
46.
Tsang, J., McCullough, M.E., & Fincham, F. (2006). The longitudinal association between forgiveness and relationship closeness and commitment. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 25, 448-472.
47.
Watson, D., Clark, L.A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,54, 1063-1070.
48.
Witvliet, C. v. O., Ludwig, T.E., & Vander Laan, K.L. (2001). Granting forgiveness or harboring grudges: Implications for emotion, physiology, and health. Psychological Science, 12, 117-123.
49.
Zechmeister, J.S., Garcia, S., & Romero, C. (2004). Don't apologize unless you mean it: A laboratory investigation of forgiveness and retaliation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 232-564.
