Motivating Change in Relationships (original) (raw)
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Motivating Change in Relationships Can Prayer Increase Forgiveness?
2010
Abstract The objective of the current studies was to test whether praying for a relationship partner would increase willingness to forgive that partner. In Study 1 (N= 52), participants assigned to pray for their romantic partner reported greater willingness to forgive that partner than those who described their partner to an imagined parent. In Study 2 (N= 67), participants were assigned to pray for a friend, pray about any topic, or think positive thoughts about a friend every day for 4 weeks.
Personal Relationships, 2013
Several studies tested whether partner-focused prayer shifts individuals toward cooperative tendencies and forgiveness. In Studies 1 and 2, participants who prayed more frequently for their partner were rated by objective coders as less vengeful. Study 3 showed that, compared to partners of targets in the positive partner thought condition, the romantic partners of targets assigned to pray reported a positive change in their partner's forgiveness. In Study 4, participants who prayed following a partner's "hurtful behavior" were more cooperative with their partners in a mixed-motive game compared to participants who engaged in positive thoughts about their partner. In Study 5, participants who prayed for a close relationship partner reported higher levels of cooperative tendencies and forgiveness.
The effects of brief prayer on the experience of forgiveness: An American and Indian comparison
International Journal of Psychology, 2015
T he present study offers a cross-cultural examination of the effect of prayer on forgiveness. American (n = 51) and Indian (n = 100) participants either prayed for their romantic partner (prayer condition) or described their romantic partner's physical attributes (control condition). Prayers were self-guided and lasted 3 minutes. Pre-test and post-test measures of retaliation were completed. Results showed that participants in the prayer group showed statistically significant decreases in retaliation motives from pre-test to post-test and the magnitude of this change was not different across cultures. Control groups in both cultures showed no change. Because of the religious diversity present in the Indian sample, the robustness of the effect of prayer on forgiveness was tested across Christian, Hindu and Muslim Indians. Religious affiliation did not moderate the effect of prayer on forgiveness in this sample. Results suggest that a brief prayer is capable of producing real change in forgiveness and this change is consistent across American and Indian cultures and across three different religious groups in India. Brief prayer for others that enhances forgiveness may be useful for individuals in close relationships, in certain counselling settings and for people in many different walks of life.
Journal of Psychology …, 2008
Gem:ge Fo:x Universi~i' Forgiveness and prayer are both topics of contemporary social science research, but they are not o ften cont>idered together. The present t>tudy investigates how Christian respondents p01tray prayer when describing the process of interpersonal forgiveness. Just over half of the respondents mentioned prayer as a n irnportant part of forgiveness at their first opp01tunity in a structured interview protocol. Prayer responses •Nere coded as inward, upward, or o utward, 'vvith imvard prayers being the m ost common. The n;Hmtive descriptions o f inward pmyer resemble w•oJthington's (2001, 2003) REACH model of the forgiveness proces;;. The astounding g row th of social science research in f::Jrgiveness can be seen in the number of forgiveness-related articles in major psychology journals. In a single recent year, articles pertaining to forgiveness appeared in jourr.al of
Encounter, 2014
The psychology of forgiveness has primarily focused on intrapersonal forgiveness in response to an interpersonal offense. Clearly, the study of the supernatural, including God’s forgiveness of people, is a process beyond scientific study. However, psychological scientists can study how people respond to perceptions of God’s forgiveness and what happens when people forgive others or themselves. Forgiveness of others has resulted in health and relationship benefits. More recently, psychologists have considered the benefits of self-forgiveness. Self-forgiveness is different from forgiving others, because in self-forgiveness a person is usually attempting to rid oneself of guilt for having harmed another rather than forgiving another for the harm received. This article will review the concept of forgiveness, studies about forgiveness and health, and studies related to psychological interventions. In addition, it will also review studies that have a direct or indirect link to Christian spirituality.
Prayer and satisfaction with sacrifice in close relationships
2012
Abstract Three studies document the effect of prayer on satisfaction with sacrifice in close relationships. Study 1 (n= 771) demonstrated that prayer for partner predicted later satisfaction with sacrifice. In Study 2 couples discussed a disagreement and then prayed or engaged in a control activity. Praying increased satisfaction with sacrifice, couple identity and emergent goals, both of which mediated the relationship between prayer for partner and sacrifice.
Religions
It is well documented that religion and its different aspects positively affect people’s ability to forgive. However, studies have rarely moved beyond direct associations to explore potential mediators of this relationship. In this context, our main aim was to examine the direct relationship between God’s engagement/disengagement in response to prayer and forgiveness with the possible influence of a positive orientation. Data were gathered from 464 participants aged 18 to 75 (M = 31.10; SD = 11.32). This study included 255 women (55%) and 209 men. We used the Brief Measure of Perceived Divine Engagement and Disengagement in Response to Prayer, the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory, and the Positivity Scale. In line with our hypotheses, interpersonal forgiveness correlated positively with God’s perceived engagement (H1); it was negatively associated with God’s disengagement (H2); and it was positively linked to positive orientation (H3). Moreover, positive ori...
The Journal of Positive Psychology
Different types of forgiveness tend to be studied independently of each other. This study therefore investigated the interplay among divine forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and interpersonal forgiveness. Using two samples of 348 and 449 participants, we examined the relations among the three types of forgiveness and showed that they were positively correlated with each other. Divine forgiveness did not act as a third variable accounting for the relationship between self-forgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness. However, divine forgiveness was shown to play a moderating role in the relationship between the two earthly types of forgiveness. Specifically, controlling for religiosity and impression management, divine forgiveness moderated their relationship in that selfforgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness were more highly related to each other as levels of perceived divine forgiveness increased. The unique features of divine forgiveness that might account for its moderating role in the self-interpersonal forgiveness association are identified and avenues for further research are outlined.
Divine forgiveness and interpersonal forgiveness: Which comes first?
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2021
Do people forgive others’ transgressions because they have experienced God’s forgiveness, or do they engage in earthly forgiveness in the service of seeking God’s forgiveness? Absent systematic research on divine forgiveness, two longitudinal studies were conducted to investigate the potential direction of effects between interpersonal and divine forgiveness. Study 1 (n=447) found that divine forgiveness predicted interpersonal forgiveness 7 weeks later, but the reverse was not the case. These findings could not be attributed to religiosity which was used as a covariate. Study 2 (n=256) probed a potential boundary condition for these findings by using a longer interval (14 weeks) and examined whether relations between the types of forgiveness reflected socially desirable responding. The same pattern of results was replicated; divine forgiveness predicted later interpersonal forgiveness but not vice versa. Factors known to increase interpersonal forgiveness are identified that may ac...