Edward P Lemay

University of Maryland, College Park | UMD, UMCP, University of Maryland College Park · Department of Psychology

The authors present and test a model of interpersonal insecurity compensation. According to this model, perceivers detect targets' chronic insecurities about interpersonal acceptance, become vigilant about upsetting targets, and respond with affective exaggeration, which involves cautiously inflating positive thoughts and feelings about targets and...

In two studies, the authors examined the projection of romantic and sexual desire in opposite-sex friendships. In both studies, perceivers who strongly desired their friends projected this desire onto their friends, believing that their desire was more reciprocated than was actually the case. In turn, projection of desire appeared to motivate perce...

Four studies tested the forecast model of relationship commitment, which posits that forecasts of future relationship satisfaction determine relationship commitment and prorelationship behavior in romantic relationships independently of other known predictors and partially explain the effects of these other predictors. This model was supported in 2...

Integrating theory on interpersonal relationships and intergroup relations, this research examined the role of common ingroup recategorization (i.e., perceiving outgroup members as belonging to the same superordinate group as oneself) in fostering communal interracial relationships. A cross-sectional study (Study 1) and a short-term intensive longi...

The current research examined the interpersonal implications of pursuing goals to be valued by others as a relationship partner, termed interpersonal value goals. Across 3 experiments, a large cross-sectional study, 2 daily experience studies, and a 1-year longitudinal study with behavioral observation of conflict interactions, the pursuit of inter...

Researchers have found significant associations between romantic relationship experiences and sleep quality. However, most existing studies are cross-sectional, few have focused on the aging population, and few have considered mechanisms underlying such associations. To address these gaps, 238 older adult couples completed 7-day daily diaries, repo...

Two motivations linked to developing and maintaining communal relationships include caring for others' welfare and striving to be viewed as a desirable communal relationship partner. We review evidence suggesting that both motivations promote high-quality listening. Furthermore, high-quality listening signals listeners' prosocial motivation and enh...

We conducted cross-lagged panel models to examine reciprocal relations between parent and child depressive symptoms and authoritarian-parenting behaviors across development in a community sample of 599 youths (89.1% White, 7.7% Black/African American, 2.3% Asian, 0.7% multiracial/other; 65.3% had at least one parent with a 4-year college degree). M...

Introduction: The report examined reciprocal within-person associations among maternal depressive symptoms and offspring depressive, anxiety and irritability symptoms from early childhood to adolescence using a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). Method: Participants were 609 mother-child dyads participating in the Stony Brook T...

Social psychologists have long been interested in studying the effects of threat on physiology, affect, cognition, and behavior. However, researchers have traditionally examined threat at the level of individuals, relationships, or groups, rather than studying commonalities that exist across these levels. In this chapter, we propose that social eva...

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was emp...

Evolutionary social science is having a renaissance. This volume showcases the empirical and theoretical advancements produced by the evolutionary study of romantic relationships. The editors assembled an international collection of contributors to trace how evolved psychological mechanisms shape strategic computation and behavior across the life s...

Xenophobia and anti-immigrant attacks rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet this may not be solely due to the disease threat. According to theories of frustration and scapegoating, situational obstructions and deprivation can motivate prejudice against outgroups. Using a global natural quasi-experimental design, this study tests whether the restri...

Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement has been associated with adverse health behaviors, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, and drinking. However, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioral consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level. Further, few s...

Directly confronting others’ prejudice has been promoted as an important component in creating an inclusive workplace and motivating individuals to enact more inclusive behaviors. However, confrontations can also result in negative reactions from the confronted such as hostility or withdrawal. Across three studies (one experiment focused on anti-Bl...

The present paper examines longitudinally how subjective perceptions about COVID-19, one’s community, and the government predict adherence to public health measures to reduce the spread of the virus. Using an international survey ( N = 3040), we test how infection risk perception, trust in the governmental response and communications about COVID-19...

Before vaccines for COVID-19 became available, a set of infection prevention behaviors constituted the primary means to mitigate the virus spread. Our study aimed to identify important predictors of this set of behaviors. Whereas social and health psychological theories suggest a limited set of predictors, machine learning analyses can identify cor...

Anxiety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and home confinement has been associated with adverse health behaviors, such as unhealthy eating, smoking, and drinking. However, most studies have been limited by regional sampling, which precludes the examination of behavioral consequences associated with the pandemic at a global level. Further, few s...

Understanding the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine uptake is important to inform policy decisions and plan vaccination campaigns. The aims of this research were to: (1) explore the individual- and country-level determinants of intentions to be vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, and (2) examine worldwide variation in vaccination intentions. This cross-s...

Passionate love (PL) is a central concept in romantic relationships, yet the process through which it enhances relationship maintenance remains unclear. The current research included two studies of daily relationship experiences among dating couples (N = 203) and newlyweds (N = 173). We examined the contribution of PL to greater daily prorelationsh...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256740.].

Introduction This report examines between- and within-person associations between youth irritability and concurrent and prospective internalizing and externalizing symptoms from early childhood through adolescence. Distinguishing between- and within-person longitudinal associations may yield distinct, clinically relevant information about pathways...

The current research examined the role of values in guiding people’s responses to COVID-19. Results from an international study involving 115 countries (N = 61,490) suggest that health and economic threats of COVID-19 evoke different values, with implications for controlling and coping with the pandemic. Specifically, health threats predicted prior...

Tightening social norms is thought to be adaptive for dealing with collective threat yet it may have negative consequences for increasing prejudice. The present research investigated the role of desire for cultural tightness, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, in increasing negative attitudes towards immigrants. We used participant-level data from...

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. conservative politicians and the media downplayed the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended health behaviors. Health behavior theories suggest perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors dete...

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. conservative politicians and the media downplayed the risk of both contracting COVID-19 and the effectiveness of recommended health behaviors. Health behavior theories suggest perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors dete...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. Consequently, many countries have adopted restrictive measures that caused a substantial change in society. Within this framework, it is reasonable to suppose that a sentiment of societal discontent, defined as generalized concern about the precarious state of socie...

The current research examined the role of values in guiding people’s responses to COVID-19. Results from an international study involving 115 countries (N = 61,490) suggest that health and economic threats of COVID-19 evoke different values, with implications for controlling and coping with the pandemic. Specifically, health threats evoked prioriti...

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N = 25,435). The main predictors were (1) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (...

My Multiple Selves (MMS) is an open-ended self-concept measure that leads respondents to systematically explore who they are before selecting and rank-ordering their most important selves. A sample of college students ( n = 204) completed either the MMS or the frequently used Twenty Statements Test (TST). As predicted, results demonstrated that MMS...

Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic induces in people both uncertainty and angst, the latter may not be a direct consequence of uncertainty as such, but rather of the possible negative outcomes whose subjective certainty increased under the pandemic. From this perspective, we discuss the psychological determinants of people’s reactions to the pandemic an...

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiv...

The Coronavirus is highly infectious and potentially deadly. In the absence of a cure or a vaccine, the infection prevention behaviors recommended by the World Health Organization constitute the only measure that is presently available to combat the pandemic. The unprecedented impact of this pandemic calls for swift identification of factors most i...

In this work, we study how social contacts and feelings of solidarity shape experiences of loneliness during the COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020. We draw on cross-national data, collected across four time points between mid-March until early May 2020. We situate our work within the public debate on these issues and discuss to what extent the public...

According to health behavior theories, perceived vulnerability to a health threat and perceived effectiveness of recommended health-protective behaviors determine motivation to follow these recommendations. Because the U.S. President Trump and U.S. conservative politicians downplayed the risk and seriousness of contracting COVID-19 and the effectiv...

The PsyCorona collaboration is a research project to examine processes involved in the COVID-19 pandemic, such as behavior that curbs virus transmission, which may implicate social norms, cooperation, and self-regulation. The study also examines psychosocial consequences of physical distancing strategies and societal lockdown, such as frustration o...

The purpose of this data visualization tool is twofold. First, it serves as a resource for researchers, analysts, and practitioners to understand people’s thoughts, feelings, and responses to the coronavirus as well as the extraordinary societal measures taken against it. Such knowledge could provide pilot data for researchers, inform current polic...

Loneliness reflects a threat to people’s need to belong in close relationships, and is associated with lower self-esteem and emotional distress. The current 2-week daily diary study examined memory and prospection, or future oriented thinking, as potential mediators of these psychological responses to loneliness. Results suggest that daily loneline...

Mapping the Moods of COVID-19: Global Study Uses Data Visualization to Track Psychological Responses, Identify Targets for Intervention

This paper examines whether compliance with COVID-19 mitigation measures is motivated by wanting to save lives or save the economy (or both), and which implications this carries to fight the pandemic. National representative samples were collected from 24 countries (N=25,435). The main predictors were (i) perceived risk to contract coronavirus, (ii...

Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships - edited by Laura V. Machia June 2020

Cambridge Core - Social Psychology - Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships - edited by Laura V. Machia

The current research examined accuracy and bias in racial metaperceptions-perceptions of others' attitudes toward one's racial group-within the context of interracial relationships, as well as implications of these metaperceptions for the quality of interracial relationships. Two dyadic studies of interracial relationships involving Black and White...

The current research included 7 studies testing a model of interpersonal processes when people disclose to their close relationship partners ("confidants") about their conflicts involving adversaries outside the dyad. The model posits that confidants who feel close to disclosers tend to adopt goals to be responsive to disclosers during these intera...

Background: This study explores the impact of gender and sexuality awareness training on perinatal health care providers' (HCPs') knowledge, attitudes, and intended behavior toward childbearing individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ). Method: A nonrandom convenience sample of HCPs (n = 187) comprised...

The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of STOP Dating Violence, an online intervention developed to educate students about dating violence and appropriate bystander interventions on college campuses. College students (N = 317) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: (a) the STOP...

Five studies examined whether receiving gratitude expressions from a romantic partner can buffer insecurely attached individuals from experiencing low relationship satisfaction and commitment. In Study 1, the negative associations between attachment avoidance and both satisfaction and commitment were weaker among individuals who perceived that thei...

The present study examined both accuracy and bias in perceptions of romantic partners’ destructive behavior during relationship conflicts, as well as implications of accuracy and bias for emotional experience. Perceptions of partners’ destructive behavior during relationship conflicts were associated with indicators’ of partners’ behavior (i.e., ta...

Security in relationship partners’ positive regard promotes high-quality close relationships, and insecurity in partners’ regard undermines relationship quality. Hence, people may be motivated to dispel their close partners’ insecurity. The current research used an experimental-causal-chain design to test a novel model of the interpersonal regulati...

The current study used a dyadic daily diary design to examine the transmission of anger over daily interactions within romantic relationships. The results suggested that, when people feel angry in their relationships, they are more likely to engage in destructive behaviors toward their partners. In turn, the enactment of destructive behaviors tends...

Introduction Both sedentary activity and poor sleep have been linked to obesity among youth. Less is known about the relation between sleep and sedentary activity, particularly in young children. Excessive time in sedentary activity (i.e. screen time) may disrupt sleep. Thus, daytime sedentary activity may increase obesity risk by displacing physic...

This study examined the impact of parent-child attunement of morning cortisol on parenting and child outcomes in dyads with and without parental depression. Participants included 142 parent-child dyads (3–5 years-old) who provided morning cortisol samples at Wave 1, and 98 dyads returned for the 3-year follow-up at Wave 2. Results indicated that fo...

The motivation to care for the welfare of others, or communal motivation, is a crucial component of satisfying interpersonal relationships and personal well-being. The current meta-analysis synthesized 100 studies (Ntotal = 26,645) on communal motivation to establish its associations with subjective personal well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, pos...

The current study tested the predictions that (a) people project their own attraction to alternative romantic or sexual partners onto their romantic partners and (b) this projection shapes anger and negative behavior toward romantic partners. These predictions were supported in a dyadic daily experiences study of 96 heterosexual romantic couples. P...

The current research utilized ecological momentary assessment methodology to examine affective responses to interacting with close versus distant interaction partners during naturally occurring social interactions, and to test predictions regarding the mediating roles of perceived social approval and authenticity. Analysis of 4,602 social interacti...

Dispositional negativity—the tendency to experience more frequent or intense negative emotions—is a fundamental dimension of temperament and personality. Elevated levels of dispositional negativity have profound consequences for public health and wealth, drawing the attention of researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Yet, relatively little is k...

Dispositional negativity—the tendency to experience more frequent or intense negative emotions—is a fundamental dimension of temperament and personality. Elevated levels of dispositional negativity have profound consequences for public health and wealth, drawing the attention of researchers, clinicians, and policy makers. Yet, relatively little is...

Objective: The purposes of this study were to investigate the influence of social norms on intentions to intervene in dating violence situations and, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, to examine whether these effects were mediated by attitudes, perceived behavioral control/self-efficacy, and subjective social norms. Method: College student p...

People want to be understood by others, yet their perceptions of being understood are only modestly related to actually being understood by others. In this article, we provide an integrative theoretical model and review of research on the processes that contribute to feeling understood and misunderstood by others. The model highlights situational,...

This study examined biological concordance between parent and child morning cortisol and whether parent and child-level risk factors for depression moderated this association. Participants included 136 parents and their preschool-aged children. Parents and children obtained salivary cortisol samples at waking, and 30 and 45 minutes post-waking acro...

Objective: Social anhedonia is a deficiency in the capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions. This study examined the implications of social anhedonia for romantic relationship functioning, including the association of social anhedonia with sentiments towards romantic partners that are central to relationship functioning (satisfacti...

In 2 studies involving 96 married couples (Study 1) and 118 romantic couples (Study 2), we investigated partners’ perceptions of each others’ recently experienced emotions. In both studies, both individuals within each couple independently provided reports of (a) their own recently experienced emotions, (b) their perceptions of their partners’ rece...

This study examined the stability of children's cortisol responses to a social evaluative laboratory stressor from early to middle childhood. Ninety-six children (51 males) completed stress-inducing laboratory tasks and provided five salivary cortisol samples in early (W1) and middle (W2) childhood. Although W1 cortisol responses did not predict W2...

The authors present and test the action model of relationship security, which predicts that people's behavior toward a relationship partner shapes their security regarding that partner's care, regard, and commitment. Specifically, actors who enact prosocial or antisocial behavior develop corresponding prosocial or antisocial metaperceptions (i.e.,...

Romantic relationships unfold in the context of people's other interpersonal relationships, and processes that occur in those other relationships have been shown to affect the functioning of romantic relationships. In accordance with this perspective, two dyadic daily report studies demonstrated that people generalize experiences of interpersonal a...

This article reviews research that examines the effects of relationship expectations on interpersonal relationships. Most of the published research suggests that positive relationship expectations are associated with better interpersonal functioning, as indicated by greater relationship persistence, more positive relationship evaluations and motiva...

Mate poaching refers to efforts to attract people who are already involved in committed relationships. The current dyadic, 5-week prospective study examined mate poaching behaviors in the context of opposite-sex friendships. Actors’ mate poaching behaviors predicted decreases in their friend’s commitment to their romantic partners, increases in the...

The current research examined accuracy and bias in daily forecasts within romantic relationships. Results of an extensive daily report study involving 200 romantic dyads and 4,822 daily observations suggested that predictions regarding affect and partner behavior that will occur tomorrow are somewhat accurate, predicted by actual experiences tomorr...

Perceived partner responsiveness refers to the belief that partners care for one's needs and have positive regard for the self. The authors present a model of motivated distortion of partner responsiveness and review research relevant to this model. The model proposes that perceivers who are strongly motivated to bond with particular partners tend...

The current research examined whether perceived asymmetries in relationship commitment moderate the associations of personality traits and emotional states with enactment of hostile behavior during relationship conflicts. Participants included both members of 53 heterosexual romantic couples (Mage = 25.5 years). Participants completed questionnaire...

The current research examined self-perception of responsive behavior as a process through which perceivers who highly value romantic partners generate security that they are valued by those partners. People hold naive theories that their responsive behavior elicits positive sentiments from others, such as satisfaction, positive regard, and commitme...

Two studies examined implications of two individual differences—perception of being valued by others and desire to be valued by others—for romantic relationships. Study 1 included 171 participants involved in romantic relationships (59 males, 112 females) and examined attributions and behavioral intentions in hypothetical scenarios. Study 2 involve...

Two studies provided evidence that people hide their negative evaluations of their romantic partner's physical attractiveness. This pattern was found using self-reports of concealment (Study 1) and a behavioral observation measure (Study 2). Participants who engaged in this deception also exhibited elevated speech disfluencies, which is a deception...

The current research tested whether individuals high in attachment anxiety react to relationship threats in ways that can help them feel secure and satisfied in their relationship. Individuals higher in attachment anxiety experienced greater hurt feelings on days they faced partner criticism or conflict (Study 1) and during observed conflict discus...

A model of extradyadic temptation and mate guarding was tested in the present dyadic daily report study. Results indicated that participants (perceivers) perceived their partner’s (targets) daily extradyadic temptation and that these perceptions predicted perceivers’ daily mate-guarding behaviors. Perceivers’ chronic jealousy moderated these relati...

Six studies demonstrate that perceivers' desire to bond with targets motivates perceivers to misconstrue their own self-disclosure in ways that maintain perceivers' security in targets' care and commitment. Perceivers who strongly valued relationships with targets reported high levels of global self-disclosure, consistent with many findings suggest...

The current research examined effects of accurate and biased perceptions of romantic partners’ responsive support provision on perceivers’ well-being. Perceivers discussed a personal problem with their romantic partners (“targets”). Perceivers’ perceptions of targets’ responsive support following the discussion were related to external indicators o...