Abstract for "Vengefully Ever After: Destiny Beliefs, State Attachment Anxiety, and Forgiveness," by Finkel, Brunette, & Scissors (2006):

Two studies examined how destiny beliefs (that potential relationships are or are not “meant to be”) interact with state attachment anxiety to predict forgiveness tendencies. In Study 1, participants experienced an experimental manipulation of attachment anxiety (versus security) before indicating the degree to which they would forgive a series of hypothetical partner offenses. In Study 2, participants reported every two weeks for six months (14 waves in total) on offenses enacted by their partner and indicated the degree to which they forgave the partner, both concurrently and two weeks later. Consistent with predictions, results revealed destiny beliefs × state attachment anxiety interaction effects: Strong (relative to weak) destiny beliefs predicted reduced forgiveness tendencies for individuals experiencing state attachment anxiety, but such beliefs were not associated with forgiveness for individuals experiencing state attachment security. Results from Study 2 suggest that this interaction effect was significantly mediated through trust in the partner.