
A woman can decide she doesn't want to remain angry forever without immediately trusting her partner again.
Forgiveness generally concerns responses toward the person who caused the harm.
Trust concerns expectations about what that person is likely to do in the future.
Those expectations can require new evidence before they change.
That's why someone can sincerely say, “I forgive you,” while still feeling uncomfortable when their partner suddenly becomes secretive with their phone.
Forgiveness can address the past while trust is still trying to predict the future.
© Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology