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When is negative emotion positive for relationships? An investigation of married couples and roommates

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Three types of negative emotion (hard, soft, and fear based) were believed to be integral to functioning in close interpersonal relationships. Hard emotion includes feeling angry, soft emotion includes feeling sad or hurt, and fear-based emotion includes feeling anxious or threatened. Married persons (studies 1 and 3) and college roommates (study 2) rated the extent to which they would feel different emotions in response to a variety of negative partner behaviors. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the distinction between the three types of emotion. Although hard and soft negative emotions were highly positively correlated, they had opposite effects when used to predict relationship functioning. After controlling for shared variance between the emotions, soft emotion was associated with positive relationship functioning (high satisfaction, low conflict, and low avoidance) and hard emotion was associated with negative relationship functioning (low satisfaction, high conflict, and high avoidance). In contrast, fear-based emotion was strongly, positively, and uniquely associated with relationship anxiety.

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... Secondly, anger and hurt are often studied in the field of emotions and romantic relationships on account of their diverse consequences on romantic relationship outcomes. More precisely, anger triggers individuals to respond in destructive, defensive ways to their partners, resulting in the victim's dissatisfaction, their low commitment (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004), their desire to hurt the target (Ekman & Cordaro, 2011), and is associated with lower marital satisfaction and with concurrent marital discord (Johnson, 2002). ...
... al, 2020;Schaefer et al., 2010). Lastly, the taxonomy of negative emotions experienced in romantic relationships suggested the existence of four types of negative emotions, namely hard, soft, flat, and fear-based emotions (Dimidjian et al., 2008;Sanford, 2007;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). All of them have different effects on romantic relationships outcomes (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). ...
... Lastly, the taxonomy of negative emotions experienced in romantic relationships suggested the existence of four types of negative emotions, namely hard, soft, flat, and fear-based emotions (Dimidjian et al., 2008;Sanford, 2007;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). All of them have different effects on romantic relationships outcomes (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Therefore, a hypothetical scenario tool needs to elicit the most frequent and specific emotions for the romantic relational context. ...
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Researchers interested in emotions and romantic relationships have long been struggling to find efficient and reliable emotion elicitation techniques. In this article, we present the work of creating and testing the effectiveness of hypothetical scenarios that elicit anger and hurt in romantic relational contexts. In study one, two hypothetical scenarios for each emotion were created using the most frequent categories of recalled affective events. Further on, we tested their effectiveness in eliciting anger or hurt in three different phases. In study two, 337 participants, aged between 18 and 40 (M = 19.93; SD = 3.17), read the scenarios and rated them according to several criteria such as arousal, discreteness, positive and negative induced affectivity. We found that our hypothetical scenarios were effective on discreteness, arousal, and positive and negative affect for eliciting anger and hurt in the contexts of romantic relationships.
... However, more recent investigations of conflict in romantic relationships are beginning to differentiate between specific types of negative emotion (e.g. Gottman, McCoy, & Coan, 1996;Sanford, 2007a;Sanford, 2007b;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Many of these investigations stem from the theoretical grounding of a recent approach to couple's therapy that makes a distinction between selfish and pro-social emotion. ...
... Soft emotion, in contrast, is defined as a pro-social emotion that includes feelings of sadness, hurt, and other negative emotions associated with the experience or expression of vulnerability. Several factor analytic studies of emotion during marital conflict have strengthened the distinction between these two dimensions of negative emotion (Johnson, 2002;Sanford, 2007a;Sanford, 2007b;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004;Waldinger, Schulz, Hauser, Allen, & Crowell, 2004). More recently, a third type of negative emotion has been identified as an important factor in relationship conflict. ...
... Research on couples therapy process consistently finds that a shift from expressing hard emotion to expressing soft emotion during sessions often signals improvement (Cordova, Jacobson, & Christensen, 1998;. Along these lines, high levels of hard emotion have been associated with lower relationship satisfaction, while high levels of soft emotion have been associated with higher satisfaction (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). ...
Article
This study investigated the function of hard, soft, and flat emotion in 67 undergraduate dating couples engaged in romantic relationship conflict. The primary objective of this study was to investigate associations among these three types of negative emotion and the attributions, appraisals, and communication behavior of romantic partners during relationship conflict. Hard emotion predicted increases in negative partner attributions and negative communication behavior while predicting decreases in positive communication. Soft emotion predicted increases in the appraisal of issue importance. Flat emotion, a less extensively studied emotion in the couples' therapy literature, predicted decreases in men's self-rated positive communication. A secondary objective of this study was to experimentally induce hard and soft emotion to determine whether emotion can be manipulated to effect immediate change in cognition and behavior. Given the inefficacy of the manipulation induction task used in this study, testing subsequent hypotheses related to this second objective was not feasible. However, the utility of a theory of emotion as a feedback system in couples' research is discussed.
... Given that forgiveness is usually conceptualized as a reduction in negative feelings toward the person who committed the offense (Ballester, Sastre, & Mullet, 2009), changes in negative feelings might occur in relation to apology timing. Hard negative emotions are variations of anger, whereas soft negative emotions are variations of sadness (Sanford, 2007;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). This distinction is consistent with work on circumplex emotion models that described emotions as representing various levels of pleasantness and activation (Daly, Lancee, & Polivy, 1983;Meyer & Shack, 1989;Russell, 1980Russell, , 1983Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). ...
... Previous research findings demonstrated that hard and soft negative emotions are especially salient during conflicts (Sanford, 2007;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). According to Sanford and Rowatt, hard negative emotions express power, are more self-oriented, and are expected to be associated with high conflict, whereas soft negative emotions express vulnerability, are more relationship oriented, and are expected to be associated with low conflict. ...
... Using the emotion terms Sanford and Rowatt (2004) developed for their emotion measure, participants reported changes in their experience of hard (i.e., angry, irritated, aggravated, and annoyed) and soft (i.e., sad, hurt, concerned, and disappointed) emotions. Specifically, naive participants reported how they felt immediately after they heard their partners' apology during the conflict discussion, using a 7-point scale from less negative feelings (1), no change in negative feelings (4), to more negative feelings (7). ...
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Using attribution theory, this study examined the effects of apology timing, apology sincerity, and feeling understood on communication satisfaction and changes in negative emotions (e.g., anger and sadness) during conflict discussions. Sixty romantic couples engaged in conversations about recurring disagreements in their relationships. One partner from each couple apologized either earlier or later during the discussions. The findings showed that different variability existed between the timing of the apology and reports of communication satisfaction. Later apologies, rather than earlier apologies, given during conflict discussions that were completed in less than 10 minutes were associated with more communication satisfaction. Earlier apologies, rather than later apologies, given during conflict discussions that could have continued past 10 minutes were associated with more communication satisfaction. Additionally, reports of feeling understood and apology sincerity predicted communication satisfaction and apologies seen as more sincere were related to reports of less hard negative emotions such as anger, but were not related to reports of soft negative emotions, such as sadness. These findings have implications for the process of forgiveness and the mediation of disputes.
... The "soft" and "hard" negative emotions (Dimidjian, Martell, & Christensen, 2008;Christensen, Jacobson, & Babcock, 1995) taxonomy is one of the most employed taxonomies of negative emotions experienced within romantic relationships. However, later formulations have suggested the existence of other types of emotions, such as "fear-based" emotions (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004) and "flat" emotions (Sanford (2007b). ...
... Furthermore, fear and anxiety are representative for fear-based emotions; while boredom, disinterest and apathy are emotions which can fall in the category of flat emotions. Sanford and Rowatt (2004) examined the relationship between three types of negative emotions (hard, soft, fear-based) and relationship functioning. They found that hard emotions were associated with negative relationship functioning (low satisfaction, high conflict and high avoidance), whilst soft emotions were associated with positive relationship functioning (high satisfaction, low conflict, low avoidance). ...
... IBCT (Dimidjian, Martell, & Christensen, 2008;Christensen, Jacobson, & Babcock, 1995) have categorized negative emotions felt within romantic relationships in soft and hard. Moreover, Sanford and Rowatt (2004) have suggested the existence of fear-based emotions and has suggested another type of negative emotion, the flat emotions. Buck (1999) has proposed to replace the positivenegative distinction with selfish-pro-social one. ...
... Based on the assumption that hard, soft and fear-based emotions have different impact on romantic relationships outcome as dyadic satisfaction and even the literature suggests that they share the same variance because all of them are placed in the negative emotions category, Sanford and Rowatt (2004) tested this issue and they found that soft emotions predicted positive functioning (high satisfaction, low conflict, and low avoidance) whereas hard emotions predicted negative functioning (low satisfaction, high conflict, and high avoidance) and fear-based emotions were associated with poor relationship functioning, predicting relationship anxiety. In other study, suggest that increases in hard emotions lead to increases in negative communication and decreasing in positive communication and they are associated with detrimental changes in the behaviour of both partners. ...
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The universal human tendency to form close relationships, the basic needs satisfied by social relationships and the centrality of them to human existence were ones of the most important reasons why people started to research the concept of close relationships and its impact on the daily life. In the last 4 decades, the studies of the interpersonal relationships have been one of the favorite areas in the social psychology. The several strong theories and highly generative research paradigms on interpersonal relationships are the result of researchers' interest in this concept. A central role was played by the romantic relationships concept. At the beginning of the 1980s, the publication of studies on relationship types began, and later on, articles on theories about factors of formation, development, maintenance and dissolution of one romantic relationship were published. Across time, they discover that social relationships represent the context in which people experience their most intense emotions, both positive and negative. Especially, the experience and expression of emotions are influencing the formation, maintenance and dissolution of close relationships. Thus, based on these assumptions, this paper is an overview of synthetizing (a) how the concept of romantic relationships is view by different theories; (b) what are the benefits of them; and (c) which type of negative emotions are experienced within a romantic relationship. Keywords:emotion, romantic relationships, soft, hard, fear-based, flat emotions.
... In developing a context-specific measure of attributions, it will also be important to test the new instrument's construct validity by examining correlations with other contextspecific variables. For example, emotion is a context-specific variable that often changes within people across different episodes of relationship conflict (Sanford, 2012) and previous research has identified three types of negative emotion that are particularly salient during conflict interactions: sometimes termed hard, soft, and flat emotion (Sanford, 2007a(Sanford, , 2007bSanford & Rowatt, 2004). Hard emotion includes feeling angry and irritated and is associated with asserting power and control (Jacobson & Christensen, 1998). ...
... The hard emotion scale includes four items measuring feelings of anger, annoyance, and irritation; the soft emotion scale includes four items measuring feelings of sadness, hurt, and concern, and the flat emotion scale includes four items measuring feelings of indifference, disengagement, and boredom. The CERF was developed and validated in a series of studies (Sanford, 2007a(Sanford, , 2007bSanford & Rowatt, 2004) finding that the CERF fits an expected factor structure, corresponds with observer ratings of expressed emotion, and that changes in emotion predict corresponding changes in communication behavior, cognition, and conflict resolution (Sanford & Grace, 2011). In the present study, Cronbach's alphas were .84, ...
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Two studies were conducted to develop and validate a six-item scale for measuring context-specific attributions regarding the extent to which people either blame or exonerate partners during couples’ conflicts. Context-specific attributions pertain to appraisals made during a single episode of relationship conflict, and the scale was expected to be distinct from existing attribution scales measuring people’s schemas regarding the types of attributions they typically make. Study 1 included 2,452 people in marriage or cohabitating relationships; Study 2 included 172 people in dating relationships, and participants in both studies completed Internet questionnaires. Item response theory was used to create an attribution scale using the fewest number of items to discriminate reliably across the full range of attribution levels. The resulting scale produced an expected pattern of convergent and divergent correlations with other context-specific measures, including two types of underlying concerns and three types of emotion. The context-specific attribution scale explained variance in these criterion variables that could not be explained by other existing scales that assess attributions at the schematic level.
... However, research suggests expressing affecteven negative affect-benefits relationships (Clark & Finkel, 2005;Impett et al., 2014). In fact, individuals in romantic relationships expect and welcome partners' negative emotional expressions, and the expression of even negative affect has beneficial effects on relationship processes (Clark & Finkel, 2005;Clark, Fitness, & Brissette, 2001;Clark & Taraban, 1991;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). ...
... Research also suggests that suppressing negative emotions has negative consequences for the regulator and target (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Study 1 is not inconsistent with that argument, but instead underscores the potential discrepancy between beliefs about perceiving suppression versus interacting with a suppressive partner in vivo. ...
Article
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Emotion suppression is one of the most studied topics in emotion regulation. However, little is known about how response-focused regulation strategies unfold in romantic relationships from the perspectives of both emotion regulators and their interaction partners. Using the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat as an organizing framework, 2 experiments examined effects of expressive suppression (vs. expression) on affective, cognitive, physiological, and behavioral processes in regulators and their romantic partners. In Experiment 1 a crowd-sourced sample of individuals currently in a romantic relationship simulated scenarios in which the self or partner engaged in response-focused emotion regulation (expression or suppression of affective displays). Suppressors expected worse outcomes compared with expressers. However, individuals on the receiving end of suppression (suppression targets) did not differ from expression targets. Experiment 2 then examined romantic couples’ responses to suppression/expression in vivo. Regulators were randomly assigned to suppress/express affective displays and partners (targets) were unaware of the manipulation. Suppressors and suppression targets exhibited more malignant physiological responses (increased vascular resistance and elevated cortisol reactivity) during an emotional conversation and reduced intimacy behavior as measured with a novel touch task. Consequences for relationship processes are discussed.
... Conversely, executive coaches who anchor a coaching process in the coaching recipient's improvement needs (NEA framing/early induction of negative affect) trigger negative cognitive affective processing associated with adaptive response to extrinsic requirements and/or threats, i.e., ways in which negative emotions assist rapid recognition of problems, appraisal of negative feedback, evaluation of weaknesses, surfacing of fears and anxieties, and mobilization of psychophysiological energy for coping with situational concerns (French, 2001;Sanford and Rowatt, 2004;Parrott, 2014). Figure 1 presents the proposed differential impacts of PEA framing versus NEA framing. ...
... Again, ICT (Boyatzis, 2006;Howard, 2006), supported by selected emotion regulation research (Freitas et al., 2002;Diamond and Aspinwall, 2003) and cognitive emotion research on non-linear dynamics in human flourishing/positivity ratios (Gottman et al., 2002;Losada and Heaphy, 2004;Sanford and Rowatt, 2004;Fredrickson and Losada, 2005;Fredrickson, 2013), proposes that intentional change is characterized by recurrent PEA-NEA arousal, and that (associated) interplay of positive emotion and negative emotion shapes the form and flow of intentional change. In the current study, segment-to-segment reversals documented by the significant interaction effects for sadness or depression and future can be viewed as suggestive evidence on recurrent PEA-NEA-PEA arousal (PEA condition) and recurrent NEA-PEA-NEA arousal (NEA condition), and related PA-NA interplay during the coaching hour. ...
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Drawing on intentional change theory (ICT; Boyatzis, 2006), this study examined the differential impact of inducing coaching recipients’ vision/positive emotion versus improvement needs/negative emotion during real time executive coaching sessions. A core aim of the study was to empirically test two central ICT propositions on the effects of using the coached person’s Positive Emotional Attractor (vision/PEA) versus Negative Emotional Attractor (improvement needs/NEA) as the anchoring framework of a onetime, one-on-one coaching session on appraisal of 360° feedback and discussion of possible change goals. Eighteen coaching recipients were randomly assigned to two coaching conditions, the coaching to vision/PEA condition and the coaching to improvement needs/NEA condition. Two main hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis1 predicted that participants in the vision/PEA condition would show higher levels of expressed positive emotion during appraisal of 360° feedback results and discussion of change goals than recipients in the improvement needs/NEA condition. Hypothesis2 predicted that vision/PEA participants would show lower levels of stress immediately after the coaching session than improvement needs/NEA participants. Findings showed that coaching to vision/the PEA fostered significantly lower levels of expressed negative emotion and anger during appraisal of 360° feedback results as compared to coaching to improvements needs/the NEA. Vision-focused coaching also fostered significantly greater exploration of personal passions and future desires, and more positive engagement during 360° feedback appraisal. No significant differences between the two conditions were found in emotional processing during discussion of change goals or levels of stress immediately after the coaching session. Current findings suggest that vision/PEA arousal versus improvement needs/NEA arousal impact the coaching process in quite different ways; that the coach’s initial framing of the session predominantly in the PEA (or, alternatively, predominantly in the NEA) fosters emotional processing that is driven by this initial framing; and that both the PEA (and associated positive emotions) and NEA (and associated negative emotions) play an important and recurrent role in shaping the change process. Further study on these outcomes will enable researchers to shed more light on the differential impact of the PEA versus NEA on intentional change, and how to leverage the benefits of both emotional attractors. Findings also suggest that coaches can benefit from better understanding the importance of tapping intrinsic motivation and personal passions through coaching to vision/the PEA. Coaches additionally may benefit from better understanding how to leverage the long-term advantages, and restorative benefits, of positive emotions during coaching engagements. The findings also highlight coaches’ need to appreciate the impact of timing effects on coaching intentional change, and how coaches can play a critical role in calibrating the pace and focus of work on intentional change. Early arousal of the coachee’s PEA, accompanied by recurrent PEA–NEA induction, may help coachees be/become more creative, optimistic, and resilient during a given change process. Overall, primary focus on vision/PEA and secondary focus on improvement needs/NEA may better equip coaches and coaching recipients to work together on building robust learning, development, and change. Keywords-133pt executive coaching, vision, improvement needs, positive emotion, negative emotion, emotional appraisal, intentional change, positive psychology
... and increased conflict in romantic relationships (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004), an increased likelihood of divorce (Gottman & Levenson, 2002), and retaliation and impasses in conflict resolution (Friedman et al., 2004;Kopelman, Rosette, & Thompson, 2006;Van Kleef & Côté, 2007). However, other research has documented favorable outcomes of anger expressions, such as greater concessions from counterparts in negotiations (Van Kleef, De Dreu, & Manstead, 2004), increased effort and task performance of subordinates (Sy, Côté, & Saavedra, 2005;Van Kleef, Homan, Beersma, & Van Knippenberg, 2010), increased conformity of deviant group members (Heerdink, Van Kleef, Homan, & Fischer, 2013), enhanced learning performance of students (Van Doorn, Van Kleef, & Van der Pligt, 2014), and long-term improvement of intimate relationships (Fischer & Roseman, 2007). ...
... People express anger when they intend to change another person's behavior (Fischer & Roseman, 2007), thereby signaling that certain behavior is unacceptable. The expression of anger in close relationships is predictive of short-term divorce (Gottman & Levenson, 2002), and it is related to both decreased relationship satisfaction and increased conflict (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Yet, Fischer and Roseman (2007) found that anger can also be effective in eliciting behavioral change (see also Heerdink et al., 2013). ...
Article
Inclusion in social groups is vital to human survival and wellbeing. We propose that emotional expressions signal acceptance versus rejection to observers. Based on this idea, we hypothesized that happy facial expressions prime acceptance, whereas angry expressions prime rejection. In six experiments using the Affect Misattribution Paradigm (Payne, Cheng, Govorun, & Stewart, 2005), we tested to what extent observers associate facial expressions (angry, happy, sad, fearful, and neutral) with three different operationalizations of acceptance and rejection (accept/reject, warm/cold, close/distant). A meta-analysis on these experiments revealed that angry expressions were more strongly associated with rejection than other (negative) expressions, and that happy expressions were more strongly associated with acceptance than other facial expressions. Effects were stable and robust at presentation times of 50 ms and higher and were similar across conceptualizations of acceptance/rejection. We discuss implications for theorizing on the social functions of emotions and the processing of emotional expressions.
... Rezultatul este valabil atât pentru cuplurile căsătorite, cât şi cele necăsătorite. Cu toate acestea, dacă analizăm separat emoţiile resimţite în cadrul cuplurilor (fără a lua în considerare impactul partenerului), am remarcat că emoţiile negative (frică, furie, gelozie) sunt mai intense la cuplurile căsătorite, probabil prin prisma relaţiei îndelungate, în care se simt mai confortabili şi sunt mai sinceri, comportamente care pot genera în anumite situaţii emoţii negative şi conflicte (Cheng, 2006;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). ...
Article
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Couple relationships and satisfaction within them have always been a topic of interest for research in the field of psychology, as the life partner is a central aspect of adult life. A relationship as a couple has a significant impact on life, as it can provide a pleasant psychological experience, being associated with fulfillment, passion, fulfilling the needs of love and sexuality and romance. The theme of satisfaction in a couple, both in those in an unofficial romantic relationship, as well as married ones is analyzed comparatively, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting from the premise that significant differences were generated in the dynamics of relationships.
... Response options ranged from 1 = completely untrue to 7 = completely true. In line with previous literature (Markus and Kitayama, 1991b;Sanford and Rowatt, 2004), the following two scales were computed: (1) a Negative Engaging Emotions scale by averaging participants' responses for the negative engaging emotion items (sad, disappointed, hurt; α men = 0.76, α women = 0.86), and (2) a Negative Disengaging Emotions scale by averaging participants' responses for the negative disengaging emotion items (irritated, angry; α men = 0.72, α women = 0.82). Higher scores reflect higher levels of self-reported negative engaging and disengaging emotions, respectively. ...
Article
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The present study aimed to explore the role of partners’ negative engaging and disengaging emotions in dealing with the frustration of autonomy and relatedness needs during conflict. In an observational study, partners from 141 heterosexual couples participated in a conflict interaction task followed by a video-mediated recall procedure during which they reported their level of relational need frustration and their emotions experienced at different moments during the interaction. Results showed that in partners, more autonomy frustration, experienced at the beginning of the conflict, was accompanied by more concurrent negative disengaging emotions (anger, irritation), whereas more relatedness frustration was accompanied by more negative engaging emotions (hurt, sadness, disappointment). Additionally, the concurrent association between partners’ relatedness frustration and their experience of negative engaging emotions was negatively moderated by their own relatedness relationship beliefs (as assessed by background questionnaires), indicating that for individuals who considered relatedness to be less important, relatedness frustration and negative engaging emotions were more strongly linked than for people with high relatedness beliefs. Finally, negative engaging emotions – assessed at the beginning of the conflict – were associated with more relatedness frustration at a subsequent time point in the interaction in men, but not in women. This study contributes to our understanding of how partners’ negative emotions and the frustration of important relational needs are intertwined.
... This model distinguishes between soft and hard negative emotions. Soft negative emotions such as sadness and hurt reflect "prosocial" emotions because their function is often to induce attachment-related cognitions, prosocial behaviors, and affiliative emotions (Sanford, 2007a;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Hard negative emotions such as anger, aggravation, and resentment are considered to reflect "selfish" emotions because their function is often to obtain power and pursue self-focused goals. ...
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Online peer groups are a popular channel for mental health support, but the evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. The present study focused on empathy to better identify which supporters’ comments regulated seekers’ distress. We also explored how seekers’ emotions may shape supporters’ empathy. Posts (N = 7,646) published on an online peer support platform (“Emotional first aid [ERAN]”) were sourced. Supporters’ empathy (empathic concern, personal distress, exploration, and interpretation) and seekers’ emotional expressions (soft negative, hard negative, and positive) were coded. We hypothesized that (1) empathic concern, exploration, and interpretation (but not personal distress) would predict better seekers’ emotions (lower negative emotions and greater positive ones); (2) support seekers’ soft negative and positive emotions would predict supporters’ empathic concern and cognitive empathy (i.e., exploration and interpretation); but that (3) hard negative emotions would predict supporters’ personal distress. A set of cumulative mixed models revealed that empathic concern predicted more seekers’ positive emotions. However, cognitive empathy predicted more negative seekers’ emotions. Seekers’ soft negative emotions predicted greater expressions of supporters’ empathy (of all types). Finally, seekers’ positive emotions predicted more supporters’ empathic concern and less personal distress, but also predicted less cognitive empathy (i.e., exploration). A secondary analysis found that this pattern of results differed to some extent as a function of the supporters’ role as anonymous peers or the professional moderator. These findings suggest that empathy is a key component in online mental support platforms and that it may make online interactions more effective through emotional regulation.
... Indeed, people often express anger when they intend to change or control another person's behavior (Fischer & Roseman, 2007), thereby signaling that certain behavior is unacceptable. For instance, the expression of anger in relationships predicts an increased likelihood of divorce (Gottman & Levenson, 2002), and it is associated with both decreased relationship satisfaction and high conflict (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). These social consequences of angry expression coincide with the effects of social rejection. ...
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The interpersonal theories of depression highlight the role of interpersonal stress and individual's sensitivity to social rejection in the development of depression. However, previous research has tested their respective effects, whereas whether or not these two factors interact to affect depression, especially in ways of differential susceptibility or diathesis-stress, remains unknown. By adopting a morphed facial expressions recognition paradigm, the current study investigated the potential moderating role of perceptual sensitivity to facial expressions, especially that to angry expression which signaled social rejection, in the association between interpersonal stress and adolescent depressive symptoms. A total of 186 Chinese late adolescents (Mage = 21.16 ± 1.81 years; 73.7% females) participated in this study. The results demonstrated that perceptual sensitivity for angry faces, but not sad or happy faces, functioned as a plasticity factor significantly moderating the effect of interpersonal stress on depressive symptoms, which was consistent with hypothesis of differential susceptibility rather than diathesis-stress. No interactions were observed regarding non-interpersonal dimensions. These results were robust and survived a series of sensitivity analyses, including k-fold cross-validation test. The current findings highlight the crucial role of perceptual sensitivity to angry expression in explaining individual differences behind the links between interpersonal stress and adolescent depressive symptoms.
... Similarly, targets might fear that others might dislike and further ostracize them if they communicate their anger (van Beest et al., 2008). Additionally, targets may believe that communicating anger might negatively impact their already poor relationship with the sources (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Finally, if targets wish to avoid a social conflict, they may choose to downregulate their anger in service of this goal (English et al., 2018). ...
Article
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Ostracism triggers negative emotions such as sadness, anger, and hurt feelings. Do targets of ostracism truthfully share their emotions with the sources of ostracism? Drawing on past research on social-functional accounts of emotions and interpersonal emotion regulation, we investigated the possibility that targets may misrepresent their emotions (i.e., gaming emotions). We conducted three experiments (N = 1058; two pre-registered) using an online ball-tossing game, in which participants were randomly assigned to be included or ostracized. Consistent with the literature, we found that ostracized individuals were more hurt, sad, and angry than included individuals. However, we found little and inconsistent evidence that ostracized (vs included) individuals misrepresented their emotional reactions to the sources. Further, Bayesian analyses offered more support against misrepresentation of emotions. These findings suggest that targets of ostracism truthfully communicated their social pain to the sources.
... Social smerte optraeder ofte i sammenhaeng med andre følelser, s.s. frygt og sorg, vrede angst og skam(Feeney, 2005;Leary & Springer 2001;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Det kan ses som udtryk for at følelser, forbundet med social smerte udspringer af et mere oprindeligt og aeldre emotionssystem, som er udgangspunkt og hvor senere udviklede (enten berigede eller sammensatte) emotioner (sekundaere emotioner) indgår. ...
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De seneste 20 års forskning i stress har peget på en lang række problemer i forbindelse med den klassiske stressteori, udformet af Cannon og Selye. I artiklen argumenteres for, at et lovende bud på et svar på disse udfordringer kan bestå i udformningen af en stressteori, der også inddrager andre og parallelt udviklede psykofysiologiske systemer. Dette indebærer (i) en sondring mellem det evolutionært ældre GAS (Selye) og (ii) det nyere system, der er baseret på HPA (Cannon), og (iii) at stresssystemets regulering anskues ud fra den nyere allostatiske model (Sterling, McEwen), som derved erstatter den oprindelige homeostase-model. Denne fornyede forståelse bør også omfatte (iv) den poly-vagale teori. Teorien åbner for inddragelsen af stress som kommunikation og social regulering. Dette åbner for en bedre forståelse af, hvordan stress påvirker sociale relationer og interaktioner. Sidst, men ikke mindst (v), argumenteres for inddragelse af teorier om social smerte. Denne synsvinkel peger på, at stress medfører, regulerer og skærper oplevelse af social smerte ved trussel. Et sådant moderniseret og flerstrenget system vil kunne åbne nye perspektiver, både i forhold til diagnostik og behandling af stress og afledte syndromer.
... Wellbeing is an individual's feelings of positive emotional experience (16). Therefore, migrant children with a low level of WB are more likely to have low self-evaluation, be unable to actively adapt to environmental changes, and experience poor interpersonal relationships (17,18), which may lead to exaggerated or increased PD. Moreover, mental development in childhood is not mature or stable, and the perception of surrounding social activities is more susceptible to the influence of negative emotions (19). ...
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Background A large rural labor force has been attracted to urban areas with the acceleration of urbanization in China. This significant change in environment for migrant children from rural to urban may lead to psychological problems, such as decreased subjective wellbeing (WB) and increased perceived discrimination (PD). However, previous studies have focused on the influence of PD on WB by using a cross-sectional design, ignoring the causality and intrinsic mechanisms between WB and PD. The current study investigates the causal association and internal relations between migrant children’s PD and WB. Methods A total of 466 (222 females, 47.64%) migrant children (Mage = 11.78, SD = 1.80) were recruited from Beijing in China. The participants filled in the questionnaire twice, with an interval of 1 year, including a basic information questionnaire, wellbeing index scale, perceived discrimination questionnaire, and self-esteem scale. Results Overall, cross-lagged regression analysis revealed that WB (T1) had a predictive effect on PD (T2) but that PD (T1) had no predictive effect on WB (T2). Mediation results indicated that self-esteem (SE) (T1) mediated the relation between WB (T1) and PD (T2). Moderated mediation results further proved that the link between WB (T1) on SE (T1) and the indirect effect between WB (T1) and PD (T2) were more robust for migrant children who attended public school than those in the migrant children’s school. Conclusion These findings implied that a decrease in WB may increase the perception of subjective discrimination and that SE could be an intrinsic factor between migrant children’s WB and PD, especially in public schools. Therefore, educators and parents should also pay attention to mental health problems to improve the wellbeing and self-esteem of migrant children.
... Second, negative affectivity leads to deleterious effects on social interactions (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). The MP provides an escape from in-person interaction through online or text-based commination (Abeele et al., 2016;Buckner et al., 2012). ...
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In the modern world, the mobile phone has become an indispensable part of modern life. On the one hand, the mobile phone allows maintaining interpersonal contacts and fulfilling work or school duties regardless of time and location. It enables individuals to plan their daily routines and their free times. On the other hand, a mobile phone is a tool that can cause several psychological and physical problems. Nomophobia, which is considered the phobia of the modern era, is only one of these problems. In the simplest terms, nomophobia is the fear of being without a mobile phone and the intense anxiety and distress experienced in the absence of a mobile phone. Although technological addictions such as smartphone addiction and internet addiction have been studied extensively in the psychology literature, it is striking that nomophobia is a neglected psychological problem. However, nomophobia is emerging as a common phenomenon among young adults, as most young adults use the mobile phone for about 5 hours a day. Some users define the mobile phone as a friend and the meaning of life. More importantly, prevalence studies have revealed that about half of young adults suffer from nomophobia. Since nomophobia causes many serious consequences such as physical pain, social problems and a decrease in academic achievement, nomophobia studies are important and beneficial especially for the younger generation. This book has been written to emphasize the importance of nomophobia and to provide detailed information about the diagnosis, treatment, prevalence, predictors and symptoms of nomophobia. In addition, this book aimed to conceptualize nomophobia theoretically. Also, based on the theoretical conceptualization, psychological structures that can cause nomophobia have been identified. The theoretical conceptualization has been tested and validated using scientific methods. This book, which contains a comprehensive literature review and scientific research, can shed light on researchers for future nomophobia studies. I also believe that this book will make valuable contributions to the clinical field by providing a better understanding of the factors that should be considered in prevention programs and treatment interventions developed for nomophobia. I hope that scholars, clinicians, and students from a variety of disciplines will find my efforts helpful.
... In this regard, the distinction between soft (e.g., feeling sad or hurt) and hard (e.g., feeling angry or aggravated) negative emotions seems particularly relevant (Sanford, 2007;. For instance, the expression of sadness is more likely to be beneficial to a relationship than anger or disgust (Gottman, 1994;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004), presumably because sadness is likely to foster a compassionate response, whereas anger is more likely to trigger defensiveness and distance. ...
Chapter
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Emotions are not only fundamentally dynamic in nature in the sense of varying across time, but they are also fundamentally social, originating in and shaping our interpersonal processes. Interpersonal emotion dynamics refer to the ways in which emotions and emotional self-regulation are dynamically influenced by interactional partners, given the interdependence that exists between them. We begin this chapter by describing the premise for interpersonal emotion dynamics in intimate relationships, what interpersonal emotion dynamics constitute, and the state of the art in the fields of emotion science, relationship science, and interpersonal emotion dynamics. Next, we discuss two key themes that we believe promote theoretical integration among seemingly disparate strands of research (in emotion and relationship research), emphasizing the importance of interdependence and perceived partner responsiveness in the interpersonal emotion dynamics that characterize intimate relationships. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research in this promising area.
... In this regard, the distinction between soft (e.g., feeling sad or hurt) and hard (e.g., feeling angry or aggravated) negative emotions seems particularly relevant (Sanford, 2007;. For instance, the expression of sadness is more likely to be beneficial to a relationship than anger or disgust (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004), presumably because sadness 158 is likely to foster a compassionate response, whereas anger is more likely to trigger defensiveness and distance. ...
Chapter
To effectively regulate their emotions, people have to continually adjust their emotion regulation strategies to changes in internal and external demands. Flexibility and adaptivity are thus vital to emotion regulation. Flexibility refers to the context-sensitive deployment of emotion regulation strategies while regulating one's own emotions. By contrast, adaptivity refers to the learning taking place while regulating one's own emotions over time, and the control of this learning. Flexibility is increased by having a larger repertoire of strategies as this increases the odds that an appropriate strategy is available. On the other hand, having more emotion regulation strategies to choose from creates the need for a decision. Because this decision-making process occurs in real-time, it requires emotional stability and cognitive analysis. Over time, different experiences in choosing emotion regulation strategies give rise to learning which is one form of adaptivity. Flexibility in emotion regulation is provoked by the fluctuating contexts, whereas adaptations are induced by the frequency and intensity of emotion-regulatory activities. These adaptations are grounded in changes at a cellular and molecular level. The latter adaptations are often referred to by the term plasticity or first-order adaptation. Often some form of control is applied to such adaptation processes, determining when and under which circumstances the adaptations should take place; this is often referred to by the term meta-plasticity or second-order adaptation. The above concepts are illustrated by simulated example scenarios based on different computational network models. In the first simulated scenario, a varying context shows the flexibility in the choice of emotion regulation strategies. In the second and third scenarios, plasticity and metaplasticity are illustrated based on first- and second-order adaptive network models.
... The inadequate control and management of anger is a risk factor related to the manifestation of aggressive behavior and the deterioration of couple relationships. It is accompanied by the experience of feelings of guilt and sadness, when one sees they are incapable of controlling it (Fernández-Abascal & Palmero, 1999;Larkin & Zayfert, 2004;Mckay, Rogers & Mckay, 1991;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). ...
... In most close relationships, individuals have both positive and negative experiences and emotions; real closeness may involve and even require an endurance of life situations that includes stress, miscommunication, mistakes and the acceptance that this is normal and acceptable. Conflict is not always an indication of unhappiness in a relationship or a desire to exit; studies have shown that after conflict, closeness and satisfaction can increase among partners who feel understood and trust one another (Gordon & Chen, 2016;Kim et al., 2015;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). In the context of closeness, anger and other negative experiences may not have the same deleterious impact on well-being that they might have otherwise and may even increase positive outcomes. ...
Article
This study examined the relationships among closeness with and anger toward God, moral acceptability of anger toward God, and life satisfaction (LS) in a sample of undergraduates (N = 196). Findings showed that closeness to God moderated the association between anger toward God and LS, such that high anger combined with high closeness was associated with lower LS. Contrary to predictions, seeing anger toward God as morally acceptable did not moderate the connection between anger and LS, and in the context of closeness to God, it weakened the association between closeness and LS. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of understanding the dynamic and nuanced role of human emotions and perceptions in personal relationships with the Divine.
... For example, it may make high-depth disclosure from a romantic partner seem less special. Violations of expectations regarding romantic relationships are associated with strong negative feelings [63][64], which may decrease intimacy, and in turn, satisfaction [85]. ...
Article
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Most research on the effects of disclosure on close relationships have been done using offline disclosure. However, disclosure done online has disparate features and thus its effects on relationships may also differ. In five studies and using primes emulating Facebook timelines and messages, we compared the effects of disclosure depth on intimacy and satisfaction in online vs. offline contexts, in romantic vs. friend relationships, and with differing content (self- vs. partner-focused). After demonstrating consistent differences, we examined one mechanism that accounted for the differential effects of online vs. offline disclosure in romantic relationships: perceived inclusivity of the recipients. Results revealed that greater disclosure was associated with higher relational intimacy and satisfaction when done offline (Studies 1 and 4), and lower intimacy and satisfaction when done online (Studies 1–4), in both the discloser (Study 1) and his or her partner (Studies 2–4). The negative association between online disclosure and intimacy was present in romantic relationships, but not in friendships (Study 1). Importantly, this effect only appeared when perceived inclusivity of recipients was high (Study 4). Focusing the online disclosure content on the partner/relationship dissipated its negative effects (Study 5). Together, these studies extend further knowledge on how the effects of disclosure are contextualized, and suggest that disclosure done publicly online may be detrimental to romantic relationships.
... We examined individual differences in emo- tional trajectories of positive affect, hard negative affect (H-NA) and soft negative affect (S-NA). We distinguished between these two types of negative emotions because they serve distinct social functions and likely have different effects on relationship out- comes (see Sanford, 2007;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). H-NA in- cludes selfish emotions (e.g., anger) that are often associated with power, control-oriented behaviors and assertiveness, whereas S-NA involves more prosocial emotions (e.g., sadness) signaling vulnerability or submission (Sanford, 2007;Schoebi, 2008). ...
Article
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Responding appropriately to an intimate partner’s emotional signals and needs requires that one’s emotional responses be reactive to significant interpersonal experiences. The adaptive function of emotions is likely compromised if an individual’s emotional states are insufficiently attuned to interpersonal events. The present studies examine how individual differences in moment-to-moment emotion dynamics affect interpersonal responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. Study 1 examines associations between emotion dynamics and emotional reactivity to positive and negative relationship events. Emotion dynamics were operationalized using assessments of emotional inertia, which is defined as the degree to which emotions are resistant to change over time. Momentary assessments from 44 participants were collected four times per day over 4 weeks. Emotional inertia showed a curvilinear association with context-sensitive emotional responses to conflict, with individuals high or low in emotional inertia experiencing blunted emotional reactions to conflict. Study 2 assessed emotion dynamics based on four emotion reports per day over 10 days of both partners in a total of 103 couples. Associations of emotion dynamics with perceptions of partners’ responsiveness and relationship satisfaction over 12 months were examined. Partners of individuals with high (inert) or low (erratic) emotional inertia perceived them to be less responsive, which then predicted steeper declines in their relationship satisfaction across 12 months. The results suggest that individuals with inert or erratic emotion dynamics exhibit less context-sensitive emotional responding to conflicts and are perceived by their partners to be less responsive which subsequently undermines the quality of their intimate relationships.
... For example, at higher levels of SEP, anger may be more socially acceptable and so result in less maladaptive alienation of social support (e.g., Tiedens, 2001). However, in the context of marriage, the expressive suppression of sadness and other "soft" emotions may be the most important factor, as suppression of these emotions in particular can seriously impede connection and social support in this context (e.g., Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). More detail concerning the social context and the emotions being suppressed may show that lower SEP is associated with greater suppression of certain emotions in certain contexts that are particularly detrimental to the receipt of social support and/or depressogenic. ...
Article
This article examines whether emotional suppression is associated with socioeconomic position (SEP) in a community sample of Black and White men, and whether emotional suppression may help explain the aggregation of multiple biopsychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease at lower SEP (social support, depression, cardiovascular stress reactivity). Aim 1 tests whether multiple indicators of SEP show a consistent graded association with self-reported trait suppression, and whether suppression mediates associations between SEP and perceived social support and depressive affect. Aim 2 tests whether suppression during a laboratory anger recall task mediates associations between SEP and cardiovascular reactivity to the task. All measures of higher SEP were associated with lower suppression. Findings in this racially diverse sample of adult men suggest that socioeconomic disparities in emotional suppression may be more likely to confer cardiovascular risk through disruption of affect and social relationships, than through direct and immediate physiological pathways. © 2018 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
... In the past decade, the literature has moved toward differentiating high conflict from intimate partner violence (IPV; Jaffe, Crooks, & Bala, 2009;Jaffe, Johnston, Crooks, & Bala, 2008;Johnston, 2006). Although research has found some overlap wherein violence or a history of violence can be one factor when describing high-conflict divorce (Dalton, Carbon, & Olsen, 2003;Ehrenberg, 1996;Gilmour, 2004;Johnston, 1997;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004), it is important to distinguish high conflict from IPV. IPV involves a pattern of control, power and coercion, and domination and humiliation through the use of threat, violence or fear of violence, emotional abuse, or other coercive means (Johnston, 2006). IPV is markedly different from high conflict and must be treated as such. ...
Article
The use of the term ‘high conflict’ to describe a wide range of family dynamics after separation and divorce has increased significantly over the years. At the moment, no consensus on the definition of high conflict exists. Lack of definitional clarity hinders the ability for legal and mental health professionals to assess, identify, and effectively intervene with this population. Based on a rapid evidence assessment of 65 empirically based social science studies relevant to high conflict, this article positions high-conflict separation and divorce using an ecological transactional model to better understand risk factors and indicators associated with these families. Authors propose a more comprehensive definition that captures the complexity and interactions of various risk factors and indicators on multiple levels. Positioning high-conflict families using an ecological model identifies several points of intervention professionals can use and the fundamental need for collaboration among stakeholders for effective intervention.
... For this study, we recruited individuals who lived with their children, an older adult family member who they are caring for, or an intimate partner. These relationships are different than being a roommate in a college dorm, specifically in the role that emotions and relationship functioning play (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Additionally, all participants were college students and were employed. ...
... Moreover, extreme negative emotions (e.g. anger) can lead to deleterious effects such as poor relationship functioning and high interpersonal conflict (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004)." ...
Article
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This research experimentally investigated the social consequences of "phubbing"-the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by concentrating on one's mobile phone. Participants viewed a three-minute animation in which they imagined themselves as part of a dyadic conversation. Their communication partner either phubbed them extensively, partially, or not at all. Results revealed that increased phubbing significantly and negatively affected perceived communication quality and relationship satisfaction. These effects were mediated by reduced feelings of belongingness and both positive and negative affect. This research underlines the importance of phubbing as a modern social phenomenon to be further investigated.
... In romantic conflict research, both anger and sadness are considered negative emotions that may motivate couples' behaviour (e.g., Sanford & Rowatt, 2004;Waldinger, Schulz, Hauser, Allen, & Crowell, 2004). However, the subjective experience and expression of these emotions are thought to differentially guide conflict behaviour (Sanford & Grace, 2011). ...
Article
Adaptation to the reconstructed past is central to understanding negative emotion and its management, but research is scarce on negative emotion in romantic conflict narratives. Addressing this gap, we studied negative emotion in romantic conflict narratives as a function of gender and associations with self-reports of conflict strategies. In 145 emerging adults (54% women) from the United States, we assessed angry and sad emotion words and vocal pitch (an index of emotional arousal) during romantic conflict narratives, and self-rated anger and sadness immediately following these narratives. Results showed that self-rated anger and sadness were higher for women than men, but the use of angry and sad words and pitch did not differ by gender. For men, pitch and sad words were related to reports of less problem solving and aggression. For women, negative emotion ratings were related to less problem solving and more withdrawal. Our findings suggest that reflecting back on past romantic conflicts is a task that involves the regulation of negative emotions and that such emotions are related to conflict approaches.
... 11: Hyperalgesia 12: Analgesia 13: Social smerte optraeder ofte i sammenhaeng med andre følelser, s.s. frygt og sorg, vrede angst og skam (Feeney, 2005;Leary & Springer 2001;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Det kan ses som udtryk for at følelser forbundet med social smerte udspringer af et mere oprin-deligt og aeldre emotionssystem, som er udgangspunkt og indgår senere udviklede (enten berigede eller sammensatte) emotioner (sekundaere emotioner). ...
Article
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It is often argued, that modern work and living in globalized knowledge society involve new demands and social stressors. This paper argues that it is meaningful to assume the existence of a psychological immune system that has emerged through the evolution of social mammals and humans. Accord to the theory, this system is activated in the case of social threats, loss or damage. When activated it causes psychological pain and depressive reaction. Similar to the innate immune system, the psychological immune system involves (social) behavior with the goal to limit damage and improve the odds for recovery. In the paper it is argued that modern work involves increased focus on social relations and cooperation. The experience of permanent changes at work, increased pressure and emotional demands lead to increasing risk for social loss and defeat at work. According to this theory such experiences will lead to psychological pain and depressive mental states. This theory can contribute to explaining the increasing prevalence of stress and depression.
... Negative self-caused emotions, like shame and regret, can motivate prosocial behaviors (Butt & Choi, 2006;De Hooge, Breugelmans, & Zeelenberg, 2008) and have a positive influence on gift-giving intentions (De Hooge, 2014). In contrast, negative other-caused emotions, like anger and annoyance, can motivate conflict-creating behaviors in relationships (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004) and have a negative influence on gift-giving intentions (De Hooge, 2014). ...
Article
Multiple studies have revealed that emotion appraisal dimensions can predict the effects of emotions on decision making. For example, givers' intention to buy gifts depends on whether they feel positive or negative (valence) and on whether the feeling is caused by the givers themselves or by gift receivers (agency). However, there is little understanding of how the effects of such appraisal dimensions might depend on individual characteristics. The current research addresses this gap by studying the interaction effects of emotions and individual characteristics on gift giving. Study 1 demonstrates that emotion effects on gift-giving behavior are explained by two things: the cause of those emotions (self or others, agency) and whether those emotions are positive or negative (valence). Moreover, four studies reveal that these effects depend on the givers' interpersonal orientation. For high interpersonally oriented givers, who care mostly about interpersonal relationships, emotion effects on gift giving depend on both valence and agency. In contrast, for low interpersonally oriented givers, who care mostly about their own gains, emotion effects on gift giving depend only on valence. Together, these findings suggest that although a focus on appraisal dimensions can be useful, individual characteristics should also be taken into account when trying to understand emotion effects on gift giving, in particular, and on decision making, in general. Copyright
... For example, Vangelisti [17] describes psychological pain as a blend of fear and sadness. It could be accompanied by other emotions, including fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, and shame [18][19][20]. Since the psychological pain is so complex due to the difficulty of defining and provoking, we have chosen physical pain in the study. ...
Article
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The aim of the study was to examine the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise. In addition to that, it was conducted to propose approaches for emotion recognition based on physiological signals. Three emotions, boredom, pain, and surprise, are induced through the presentation of emotional stimuli and electrocardiography (ECG), electrodermal activity (EDA), skin temperature (SKT), and photoplethysmography (PPG) as physiological signals are measured to collect a dataset from 217 participants when experiencing the emotions. Twenty-seven physiological features are extracted from the signals to classify the three emotions. The discriminant function analysis (DFA) as a statistical method, and five machine learning algorithms (linear discriminant analysis (LDA), classification and regression trees (CART), self-organizing map (SOM), Naïve Bayes algorithm, and support vector machine (SVM)) are used for classifying the emotions. The result shows that the difference of physiological responses among emotions is significant in heart rate (HR), skin conductance level (SCL), skin conductance response (SCR), mean skin temperature (meanSKT), blood volume pulse (BVP), and pulse transit time (PTT), and the highest recognition accuracy of 84.7 % is obtained by using DFA. This study demonstrates the differences of boredom, pain, and surprise and the best emotion recognizer for the classification of the three emotions by using physiological signals.
... Some evidence suggests that similarity in negative emotions may be more desirable than dissimilarity. Among close relationships, soft negative emotions such as hurt and sadness are associated with positive relationship outcomes (e.g., high satisfaction, low conflict) (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Thus, high similarity in these soft negative emotions may not compromise relationship quality. ...
Article
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Individuals’ reaction tendencies in emotional situations may influence their social relationships. In two studies, we examined whether perceived similarity in emotional reaction tendencies between the self and a close other was associated with individuals’ emotional well-being. Participants rated how the self and a close other (mother in Study 1; a self-nominated close other in Study 2) would react in various situations. Individuals who perceived greater similarity between the self and the close other reported more positive affect, less negative affect, lower perceived stress, and higher life satisfaction than those who perceived less self–other similarity. Furthermore, stress exposure moderated the effects of self–other similarity on perceived stress. In summary, greater perceived similarity with one’s close others seems beneficial for social–emotional adaptation.
... An assumption underlying conventional statistical methods (e.g.regression and ANOVA) is that the residuals (errors) are independent. This assumption is unsound in the case of dyadic or family data because, as cited by various researchers (see, for example, Sanford & Rowatt, 2004;Barnett, Marshall, Raudenbush, & Brennan, 1993), data from couple dyads (e.g. husbands and wives) are inherently non-independent. ...
Article
The present study extends the spillover and crossover hypotheses to more carefully model the potential interdependence between parent–parent interaction quality and parent–child interaction quality in family systems. Using propensity score matching, the present study attempted to isolate family processes that are unique across African American and European American couples that are independent of other socio-demographic factors to further clarify how interparental relationships may be related to parenting in a rural, low-income sample. The Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (APIM), a statistical analysis technique that accounts for the interdependence of relationship data, was used with a sample of married and non-married cohabiting African American and European American couples (n = 82 dyads) to evaluate whether mothers' and fathers' observed parenting behaviours are related to their behaviours and their partner's behaviours observed in a couple problem-solving interaction. Findings revealed that interparental withdrawal behaviour, but not conflict behaviour, was associated with less optimal parenting for fathers but not mothers, and specifically so for African American fathers. Our findings support the notion of interdependence across subsystems within the family and suggest that African American fathers may be specifically responsive to variations in interparental relationship quality. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Attachment styles were assessed using selected items from the Experiences in Close Relationships scale (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998). Specifically, participants responded to 16 items that were selected by Sanford and Rowatt (2004) from the original measure on the basis of an item-response theory analysis conducted by Fraley, Waller, and Brennan (2000). These items formed two 8-item scales, one measuring attachment avoidance (␣ ϭ .88) ...
Article
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A series of 3 studies using nonclinical samples investigated validity associated with the Conflict Disengagement Inventory (CDI), a questionnaire developed to measure passive immobility and withdrawal as context-specific forms of disengagement in couples' conflicts. In the first study, 2,588 married participants completed the CDI, and an expected 2-dimensional factor structure was confirmed. Additionally, results demonstrated measurement invariance across racial/ethnic and gender groups. In the second study, 223 adults in committed romantic relationships completed the CDI along with measures of attachment, emotion, underlying concerns, withdrawal, relationship expectations, relationship satisfaction, and communication behavior. Although the disengagement scales were moderately correlated, the results provided consistent evidence of convergent and divergent validity. In the third study, a sample of 135 undergraduate students in romantic relationships completed the CDI and measures of emotion on up to 5 separate assessment sessions, with sessions spaced at least 2 weeks apart. Analyses of within-person effects using hierarchical linear modeling provide evidence that the CDI captures meaningful variance at the context-specific level. There was substantial variance within persons across different episodes of conflict and within-person changes in disengagement predicted corresponding within-person changes in emotion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
... Understanding when someone close to you needs space to cool down, or when they need support is beneficial to the relationship, and can lead to greater satisfaction (Schutte et al., 2001). In fact, expressing negative emotions can increase intimacy in relationships (Graham, Huang, Clark, & Helfeson, 2008;Howell & Conway, 1990;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Additionally, individuals are more likely to express negative emotions in close relationships than in other types of relationships (Fischer & Evers, 2011), especially as the relationship develops (Aune et al., 1994); thus those in close relationships become more familiar with their partner's angry and sad expressions than would a stranger or acquaintance. ...
Article
ABSTRACT The purpose of the present investigation was to assess whether interpersonal closeness facilitates earlier emotion detection as the emotional expression unfolds. Female undergraduate participants were either paired with a close friend or an acquaintance (n= 92 pairs). Participants viewed morphed movies of their partner and a stranger gradually shifting from a neutral to either a sad, angry, or happy expression. As predicted, findings indicate a closeness advantage. Close friends detected the onset of their partners' angry and sad expressions earlier than acquaintances. Additionally, close friends were more accurate than acquaintances in identifying angry and sad expressions at the onset, particularly in non-vignette conditions when these expressions were void of context. These findings suggest that closeness does indeed facilitate emotional perception, particularly in ambiguous situations for negative emotions.
... The benefits of negative emotions issue from their central role in organizing adaptive response to behaviors and events that compromise our effectiveness, threaten our safety, drain our resources, increase our stress, or require us to improve and/or protect ourselves (French, 2001;Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). Negative emotions assist rapid recognition of problems or threats, appraisal of negative feedback, evaluation of weaknesses, surfacing of fears and anxieties, and the mobilization of psychophysiological energy for coping with situational concerns. ...
... As a consequence, the emotion signals that the receiver should undertake action to mend the relationship with the giver, or, alternatively, that the giver should decrease gift giving in order to weaken the relationship with the receiver. This prediction is in line with the findings that negative other-caused emotions can motivate dominating behaviors in negotiations (Butt, Choi and Jaeger, 2005) and conflict-creating behaviors in relationships (Sanford & Rowatt, 2004). In summary, I hypothesize that negative self-caused emotions increase gift giving, whereas negative other-caused emotions decrease gift giving. ...
Article
Decades of emotion research have demonstrated the unique influences of many specific emotions on consumer behaviors. These countless numbers of emotion effects can make it difficult to understand the role of emotions in consumer behavior. The current research introduces a parsimonious framework that can predict the effects of emotions on the consumer behavior of gift giving with just two appraisal dimensions: valence and agency. A series of studies examining gift giving reveals that positive emotions exert positive effects on gift giving, independent of their agency. In contrast, agency does predict the effects of negative emotions on gift giving. Negative self-caused emotions increase gift giving, whereas negative other-caused emotions decrease gift giving. These findings seem to hold for inactive and active emotions, and for uncertain and certain emotions. Together, these findings make a unique theoretical and empirical contribution to the understanding of emotions in gift giving. Moreover, it provides a pragmatic framework for both academics and practitioners.
Article
High levels of violence and conflict occur in inpatient psychiatric settings, causing a range of psychological and physical harms to both patients and staff. Drawing on critiques of vulnerability from the philosophical literature, this paper contends that staff's understanding of their relationship with patients (including how they should respond to violence and conflict) rests on the dominant, reductive account of vulnerability. This account frames vulnerability as an increased susceptibility to harm and so regards ‘invulnerable’ staff's responsibility to be protecting and managing vulnerable patients. We offer an alternative view of vulnerability as an openness and capability to be changed, which illuminates how the common account of vulnerability is used to justify staff's coercive power over patients and to control staff behaviour. Our main argument is that staff's adoption of this negative approach to vulnerability is associated with a range of factors that are connected to the violence and conflict endemic to these settings. Staff's need to situate themselves as invulnerable and therefore incapable of harm, we argue, leads to significant issues through: damaging staff ability to emotionally regulate; coercing patients into an asymmetrical openness leading to aggression to restore status; damaging therapeutic relationships by enforcing separation between staff and patients; increasing staff's reliance on unhelpful and rigid techniques (such as de‐escalation); repressing staffs’ ability to learn and grow through encounters with patients. Finally, we offer recommendations for how vulnerability and openness could be cultivated as a relational and radical practice in spaces that are traditionally closed and hostile to it.
Article
Western society generally highly values happiness. As a result, people sometimes experience pressure not to feel negative emotions. In this study, we comprehensively investigated this pressure, and how it manifests itself, in adult romantic relationships. Specifically, we first examined when, how often and how intensely people experience pressure not to feel bad from their romantic partners (94 different-sex couples). Additionally, we investigated (both between- and within-person) how this pressure is related to context (presence of, contact and or conflict with a partner), emotional processes (i.e. experienced sadness and anxiety, emotion suppression, and how their partner perceived their affect), and relationship well-being. Using experience sampling methodology data (6/14 reports per day over one week) we found that although participants generally did not experience strong pressure from their partner, they experienced some feelings of pressure about 50% of the time. Furthermore, within-person predictors associated with negative processes/emotions (i.e. negative emotions, conflict, emotion suppression) were related to the momentary frequency (odds) and/or intensity of perceived pressure not to feel bad. At the between-person level, individuals who experience more sadness, anxiety and reported suppressing their emotions more often tended to experience more and/or stronger pressure. Only weak associations with relationship well-being were found.
Article
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Background Rejection is a highly stressful experience and individuals tend to avoid it whenever possible. In intimate relationships, experiences of rejection can shape the interaction dynamics between partners. Highly rejection sensitive people fear that their romantic partner will reject them and they overreact to any ambiguous cues that might indicate rejection. Furthermore, because they focus on the threat of rejection, they may have difficulty disengaging from rejection-related emotions, persevere in a rejection-focused state and have a reduced capacity to regulate their emotions. The prolonged experience of strong negative emotions, together with maladaptive attempts to respond to rejection, may undermine key relationship maintenance processes that contribute to relationship functioning and lead to negative reciprocity in interactions. The goal of the present study was to shed light on how individuals experience rejection-related emotions and determine whether, following perceptions of negative interactions, rejection sensitivity was associated with stronger negative responses and less efficient downregulation of negative emotions. In addition, we examined whether dyadic patterns of rejection sensitivity were associated with negative emotion dynamics following perceptions of negative interactions. Methods The participants (N = 298) were couples experiencing the transition to parenthood. A multilevel modelling approach was used to assess the associations between rejection sensitivity, perceptions of negative interactions and emotional states. The analyses included repeated daily reports for both rejection and emotions. Results The results suggest that rejection sensitive individuals do not report higher negative emotions when they perceive negative interactions. Moreover, rejection sensitive men and women did not remain longer in a negative emotional state after they perceived negative interactions with their partner. Finally, when both men and women partners reported higher levels of rejection sensitivity, neither reported having higher negative emotions after experiencing negative interaction perceptions. Conclusions Our findings provide further insights into emotional dynamics and rejection sensitivity in romantic relationships. Our results do not provide evidence for a link between rejection sensitivity and higher negative emotions or slower recovery after reports of negative interactions. If individuals suppress their emotions, they may not benefit from regulation with their partner and instead may protect themselves over their relationships. However, in this context, rejection sensitivity might also not constitute a strong predictor of daily emotion fluctuations, but other variables– such as relationship satisfaction – might. Future research may investigate emotional responses in a sample with higher levels of rejection sensitivity and use more diverse measures of perceptions of negative interactions.
Article
Previous research has yielded mixed results about the relationships between intensive parenting attitudes and parental emotions. Further, very few studies have investigated the indirect effects of intensive parenting attitudes on parental anger through parental emotion regulation. In this study, we aim to understand the direct and indirect relationships among these variables, particularly focusing on essentialism and fulfillment and orientation to a child's emotions and emotional lack of control. Results from 654 parents with diverse racial backgrounds indicated that essentialism and fulfillment were significant predictors of parents' use of two dimensions of emotion regulation and that both dimensions were significant predictors of parental anger expression. While emotional lack of control was a significant predictor of parental anger experience, orientation was not. Mediation analyses showed that orientation was a positive mediating emotion regulation between essentialism and anger expression but a negative mediating emotion regulation between fulfillment and anger expression. Emotional lack of control was a positive mediating emotion regulation between essentialism and two anger dimensions but a negative mediating emotion regulation between fulfillment and two anger dimensions. We discussed all these results under the counseling context of helping parents regulate their anger.
Article
Numerous variables, including emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal factors, may influence the level of marital conflict. The aim of this study was to determine the predicting role of abandonment schema, inclusion of others in self, and number of negative emotions in marital conflict. The participants were 212 married university students (analytic sample of N = 205). Different scales (Inclusion of Other in the Self, Young Schema Questionnaire Long-Form, Negative Emotion (NE), and Marital Conflict Questionnaire) were used in order to assess the intended marital conflict variables. Our findings demonstrated a positive and significant correlation between marital conflict and number of negative emotions. Moreover, our findings also demonstrated a positive association between marital conflict and early maladaptive abandonment schema. Further, the association between inclusion of the others in the self and marital conflict was statistically significant. In conclusion, the study showed that the number of negative emotions is the strongest predicting variable in relation to marital conflict. Thus, education on the emotion regulation strategies could be one efficacious way to decrease marital issues.
Article
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate and establish a relationship between phubbing behaviour and anxiety among both genders and among two streams-Sciences and Social Sciences of Sam Higginbottom University of Agricultue, Technology and Sciences and University of Allahabad. Sample was chosen adopting statified random sampling method using descriptive survey method. Based on the literature overview and discussion with the subject experts and to bring fair evaluation report, self devised questionnaire was constructed and validated containing four dimensions of phubbing behavior namely Individual acceptance, smart phone separation anxiety, relational divergence and identity detachment where respondents had indicated their responses on a scale of 7 points and Sinha's comprehensive anxiety test (SCAT). Descriptive and inferential statistics have been used for analyzing and interpreting the data and its finding are conducted as there is positive correlation between phubbing behaviour and anxiety among both genders and in across chosen stream.
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Present study titled ‘Phubbing – A growing trend among youth.’ was conducted on male and female undergraduate students. Descriptive survey method was implied to collect the data of the study. 200 students have been selected by using stratified random sampling technique as a sample of the study. Based on the literature overview and discussion with the subject experts and to bring fair evaluation report, self devised questionnaire was constructed and validated containing four dimensions of phubbing behavior namely Individual acceptance, smart phone separation anxiety, relational divergence and identity detachment where respondents had indicated their responses on a scale of 7 points. Descriptive statistics (mean and percentage analysis) have been used for analyzing and interpreting the data and its finding are conducted as there is a presence of phubbing behaviour among males and females of undergraduates of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences and University of Allahabad. Our findings have implications for clinical/ organizational practitioners including smartphone producers, mobile app providers and other affiliated stakeholders.
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Dysfunctional anger management is related to damage in interpersonal relationships, decreasing in subjective welfare and development of chronic illness. The goal of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a cognitive behavioral treatment in adults with both mild and moderate anger in order to reduce and prevent dysfunctional anger expressions. A single case quasi experimental design with multiple baseline was used. Nine adults participated. At the end of treatment they reduced the frequency of anger episodes and the frequency of verbal and aggressive behaviors; this result was related to a better quality of life and the strengthening of social relationships. © Editorial El manual moderno Fotocopiar sin autorización es un delito.
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According to Vangelisti (2007), “whenever two people communicate, they risk hurting each other” (p. 121). Such risk is elevated when the communication involves conflict. Interactions involving conflicts tend to be more arousing and to elicit more negative emotions than do other conversations (Levenson & Gottman, 1985). The heightened affective intensity associated with conflict provides abundant occasions for hurt feelings. Indeed, the apparent connection between conflict and hurt is strong enough that some scholars treat being hurt as synonomous with interpersonal conflict (e.g., Wainryb, Brehl, & Matwin, 2005). Other scholars simply assume that conflict is inherently hurtful; for instance, one study examining the “most frequently used strategies of relational conflict resolution” was titled “You always hurt the one you love…” (Fitzpatrick & Winke, 1979, p. 3). Despite the belief that conflict and hurt are closely related, there is surprisingly little research that systematically examines their association. This lack of focus on hurt and conflict is remarkable given that other emotions, like anger, are frequently linked to conflict (e.g., Notarius, Lashley, & Sullivan, 1997). Clearly, addressing this gap in the literature could be useful, potentially answering questions such as “How can individuals make their conflicts less hurtful?” and “Can (and should) people prevent hurt feelings from leading to interpersonal conflicts?” A single chapter can only begin to address such questions, but our goals are (a) to adumbrate the research that does exist on conflict and hurt and (b) to provide an initial framework for thinking about how the hurtful aspects of conflict can be reduced.
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Three studies examined the association between adult attachment and anger. Study 1 examined attachment-style differences in self-reports of anger-proneness, anger expression, anger goals, and responses to anger. Study 2 assessed attachment style, physiological signs of anger, and attribution of hostile intent. Study 3 used a lexical-decision task for studying attachment-style differences in expected anger outcome. Secure persons scored lower in anger-proneness, endorsed more constructive anger goals, reported more adaptive responses and more positive affect in anger episodes, attributed less hostile intent to others, and expected more positive outcomes than insecure persons. For ambivalent persons, the anger experience also included lack of anger control and anger-in. For avoidant persons, it included high hostility, escapist responses, and lack of awareness of physiological signs of anger. The underlying action of working models is emphasized in the discussion.
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Two studies examined attachment style differences in social perception. In Study 1, participants wrote open-ended explanations for hypothetical relationship events and described how they would feel and behave in response to each event. Compared with secure participants, preoccupied participants explained events in more negative ways; they also reported more emotional distress and behaviors that were likely to lead to conflict. Avoidant participants also provided negative explanations, but did not report emotional distress. Path analysis indicated that attachment style differences in behavior were mediated by explanation patterns and emotional distress. Study 2 was designed to replicate Study 1 and test the relative importance of attachment style and relationship quality to predicting each outcome. Results indicated that both variables were significant predictors of explanations, but only attachment style predicted emotional responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that adults with different working models of attachment are predisposed to think, feel, and behave differently in their relationships.
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Spouses' masculinity and femininity were examined in relation to longitudinal change in marital satisfaction and behavior displayed in a problem-solving discussion. Results indicated, first, that wives' satisfaction declined to the extent that their husband endorsed fewer desirable masculine traits (Study 1) and more undesirable masculine traits (Study 2). Second, masculinity and femininity covaried with problem-solving behavior, particularly for behavioral sequences involving husbands' responses to wives' negative behavior. Finally, the relation between husbands' masculinity and change in wives' satisfaction was not mediated by husbands' behavior; instead, sex role and behavioral variables made independent contributions to change in wives' satisfaction. These results are important because they highlight the value of examining intraindividual and interpersonal variables when determining how marriages improve and deteriorate.
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Two longitudinal studies of marital interaction were conducted using observational coding of couples attempting to resolve a high-conflict issue. We found that a different pattern of results predicts concurrent marital satisfaction than predicts change in marital satisfaction over 3 years. Results suggest that some marital interaction patterns, such as disagreement and anger exchanges, which have usually been considered harmful to a marriage, may not be harmful in the long run. These patterns were found to relate to unhappiness and negative interaction at home concurrently, but they were predictive of improvement in marital satisfaction longitudinally. However, three interaction patterns: were identified as dysfunctional in terms of longitudinal deterioration: defensiveness (which includes: whining), stubborness, and withdrawal from interaction. Hypotheses about gender differences in roles for the maintenance of marital satisfaction are presented.
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Recent work on natural categories suggests a framework for conceptualizing people's knowledge about emotions. Categories of natural objects or events, including emotions, are formed as a result of repeated experiences and become organized around prototypes (Rosch, 1978); the interrelated set of emotion categories becomes organized within an abstract-to-concrete hierarchy. At the basic level of the emotion hierarchy one finds the handful of concepts (love, joy, anger, sadness, fear, and perhaps, surprise) most useful for making everyday distinctions among emotions, and these overlap substantially with the examples mentioned most readily when people are asked to name emotions (Fehr & Russell, 1984), with the emotions children learn to name first (Bretherton & Beeghly, 1982), and with what theorists have called basic or primary emotions. This article reports two studies, one exploring the hierarchical organization of emotion concepts and one specifying the prototypes, or scripts, of five basic emotions, and it shows how the prototype approach might be used in the future to investigate the processing of information about emotional events, cross-cultural differences in emotion concepts, and the development of emotion knowledge.
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A new 4-group model of attachment styles in adulthood is proposed. Four prototypic attachment patterns are defined using combinations of a person's self-image (positive or negative) and image of others (positive or negative). In Study 1, an interview was developed to yield continuous and categorical ratings of the 4 attachment styles. Intercorrelations of the attachment ratings were consistent with the proposed model. Attachment ratings were validated by self-report measures of self-concept and interpersonal functioning. Each style was associated with a distinct profile of interpersonal problems, according to both self- and friend-reports. In Study 2, attachment styles within the family of origin and with peers were assessed independently. Results of Study 1 were replicated. The proposed model was shown to be applicable to representations of family relations; Ss' attachment styles with peers were correlated with family attachment ratings.
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This study examined the relationship between demand-withdraw interaction and battering in couples with a violent husband. The authors compared the interaction patterns of 47 couples with a violent husband with the interaction patterns of 28 distressed but nonviolent couples and 16 happily married nonviolent couples. All couples engaged in videotaped discussions of problem areas in their marriage. Both batterers and battered women showed less positive communication and more negative communication than did their nonviolent counterparts. Additionally, batterers showed significantly higher levels of both demanding and withdrawing than did other men. Battered women demanded more change than did women in nonviolent marriages but were significantly less inclined to withdraw than were their husbands. The discussion of these findings focuses on the interactional dynamics between batterers and battered women and how these interactions might be understood.
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This article illustrates new statistical methods for the study of psychological change in married couples. The design involves time-series data on each partner. The analysis combines longitudinal methods for studies of individual change with cross-sectional methods for the study of matched pairs. Each person is viewed as changing over time as a function of an individual growth curve or change function. As in previous studies of individual change, a person's trajectory depends on time-invariant personal background characteristics and time-varying changes in the environment. However, unlike typical studies of individual change, a person's changing psychological profile depends, in part, on the influence of that person's partner. These methods apply directly to other types of longitudinal studies on families (e.g., studies that use teacher and parent reports of a child's social behavior). The methodology is flexible in allowing randomly missing data, varying spacing of time points, unbalanced designs, and time-varying and time-invariant covariates.
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Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing theoretical perspectives are examined for their ability to explain change in marital quality and stability. Second, the methods and findings of 115 longitudinal studies—representing over 45,000 marriages—are summarized and evaluated, yielding specific suggestions for improving this research. Finally, a model is outlined that integrates the strengths of previous theories of marriage, accounts for established findings, and indicates new directions for research on how marriages change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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The present study used confirmatory factor analysis to identify two dimensions of adult attachment, analogous to infant attachment theory, using items derived from Hazan & Shaver's (1987) widely used self-report measure. Subjects were 571 private university or community college students. Results indicated that a two-dimensional model best fits the data, that a three-dimensional model fits slightly less well and was simply less parsimonious, and that a one-dimensional model fits less than adequately. The same two-dimensional model fits both married and non-married adults. Loneliness, dating frequency, and dating/marital status showed a different pattern of correlations with the two attachment dimensions. Heterosexual confidence and parental divorce, although correlated with attachment dimensions, did not produce significantly different patterns of correlation with the two dimensions.
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Two instruments were created to assess cognitions in marital relationships: these were a 4-minute speeded test to assess Memory Accessibility for Partner Not Understanding (MAPNU), and a 20-item Likert-type questionnaire to assess Schema of Partner Empathic Responses to Anger (SOPERA). Seventy-four married individuals (37 couples, ranging from happily married to mildly distressed) completed both cognitive measures, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Areas of Change questionnaire. The cognitive measures produced high reliability coefficients and a high convergent validity coefficient. SOPERA was related to, but not redundant with, general marital adjustment, and these two constructs best fit a two-dimensional as compared to a one-dimensional confirmatory factor analysis model. MAPNU was not correlated with length of marriage nor with a measure of general response production. Having a partner who demonstrated accurate understanding on the Areas of Change questionnaire was related to scores on both MAPNU and SOPERA, and path analysis supported a model in which SOPERA mediates the relationship between partner accurate understanding and relationship satisfaction.
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Examined how adult attachment styles moderate spontaneous behavior between dating couples when 1 member of the dyad is confronted with an anxiety-provoking situation. 83 dating couples were unobtrusively videotaped for 5 min in a waiting room while the woman waited to participate in an "activity" known to provoke anxiety in most people. Independent observers then evaluated each partner's behavior on several dimensions. Results revealed that persons with more secure attachment styles behaved differently than persons with more avoidant styles in terms of physical contact, supportive comments, and efforts to seek and give emotional support. Findings are discussed in the context of theory and research on attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This article illustrates new statistical methods for the study of psychological change in married couples. The design involves time-series data on each partner. The analysis combines longitudinal methods for studies of individual change with cross-sectional methods for the study of matched pairs. Each person is viewed as changing over time as a function of an individual growth curve or change function. As in previous studies of individual change, a person's trajectory depends on time-invariant personal background characteristics and time-varying changes in the environment. However, unlike typical studies of individual change, a person's changing psychological profile depends, in part, on the influence of that person's partner. These methods apply directly to other types of longitudinal studies on families (e.g., studies that use teacher and parent reports of a child's social behavior). The methodology is flexible in allowing randomly missing data, varying spacing of time points, unbalanced designs, and time-varying and time-invariant covariates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. 6-mo follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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in our discussion of emotion and dysfunction, we have intimated that emotions are instructive about persons because both emotions and the personality are organized around the problem of surviving, getting along, and flourishing over the life course begin by addressing the question of what an emotion is / describe our own [the authors'] recent work directed at illuminating what we see as one of the important issues in emotion theory—the role of cognitive appraisal embed this work in a general model of emotion, which identifies the key variables and processes within a systems framework emphasizing person-environment relationships and cognitive mediation illustrate how emotion theory makes firm contact with a variety of topics currently being pursued across diverse psychological disciplines, especially personality and social psychology the adaptational problem and the evolution of emotion / appraisal theory / personality, society, and biology in emotion (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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We examine the controversial practice of using parcels of items as manifest variables in structural equation modeling (SEM) procedures. After detailing arguments pro and con, we conclude that the unconsidered use of parcels is never warranted, while, at the same time, the considered use of parcels cannot be dismissed out of hand. In large part, the decision to parcel or not depends on one's philosophical stance regard- ing scientific inquiry (e.g., empiricist vs. pragmatist) and the substantive goal of a study (e.g., to understand the structure of a set of items or to examine the nature of a set of constructs). Prior to creating parcels, however, we recommend strongly that in- vestigators acquire a thorough understanding of the nature and dimensionality of the items to be parceled. With this knowledge in hand, various techniques for creating parcels can be utilized to minimize potential pitfalls and to optimize the measure- ment structure of constructs in SEM procedures. A number of parceling techniques are described, noting their strengths and weaknesses.
Chapter
How do marriages become unhappy? How do marriages change? What are the theories and methods that can best illuminate our understanding of marital development? This 1998 volume comprehensively explores how marriages develop and deteriorate, and in doing so, brings together leading scholars to present research on the longitudinal course of marriage. The chapters share a common focus on the early phases of marriage but address a diverse array of topics, including marital conflict, personality, social support, the transition to parenthood, violence, ethnicity, stress, alcohol use, commitment and sexuality. Implications of this research for alleviating marital distress are also noted. The book concludes with six provocative analyses by prominent scholars in the areas of sociology, clinical psychology, social psychology and developmental psychology.
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The significant role of emotions in evolution and adaptation suggests that there must be more than 1 mechanism for generating them. Nevertheless, much of current emotion theory focuses on cognitive processes (appraisal, attribution, and construal) as the sole, or primary, means of eliciting emotions. As an alternative to this position, the present model describes 4 types of emotion-activating systems, 3 of which involve noncognitive information processing. From an evolutionary-developmental perspective, the systems may be viewed as a loosely organized hierarchical arrangement, with neural systems, the simplest and most rapid, at the base and cognitive systems, the most complex and versatile, at the top. The emotion-activating systems operate under a number of constraints, including genetically influenced individual differences. The hierarchical organization of the systems for generating emotions provides an adaptive advantage.
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This study examined how adult attachment styles moderate spontaneous behavior between dating couples when 1 member of the dyad is confronted with an anxiety-provoking situation. Eighty-three dating couples were unobtrusively videotaped for 5 min in a waiting room while the woman waited to participate in an "activity" known to provoke anxiety in most people. Independent observers then evaluated each partner's behavior on several dimensions. Results revealed that persons with more secure attachment styles behaved differently than persons with more avoidant styles in terms of physical contact, supportive comments, and efforts to seek and give emotional support. Findings are discussed in the context of theory and research on attachment.
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This paper critically examines the operationalization of marital quality indices used as dependent variables. First, it looks at the functioning and construction of marital quality variables. In particular, Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale is used to illustrate the arguments. Second, it presents both semantic and empirical criteria to judge the development of a marital quality index. Finally, it presents a Quality Marriage Index (QMI) based on the introduced criteria. This index was constructed using data from 430 people across four states. Several advantages of the QMI over more traditional measures are shown in terms of how covariates relate to the index.
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Hazan and Shaver have identified three adult attachment styles corresponding to the infant-mother attachment patterns observed by Ainsworth and associates in the first year of life: secure, avoidant, and anxious-ambivalent. These three styles are related to a wide variety of close relationship processes and outcomes. To date, however; little research has focused on relations between attachment styles and major personality constructs. Such re-search can clarify, the nature of attachment styles and ensure that they are not simply redundant with existing constructs. The present research examined associations between attachment measures, relationship quality and outcome measures, and the 'Big Five"personality traits assessed by the NEO Personality Inventory. Attachment styles were related in theoretically predictable ways to the Big Five dimensions and especially to some of their 'facet' subscales but were not simply redundant with them. The NEO scales were generally not as powerful as the attachment style measures in predicting romantic relationship outcomes, probably because of the greater specificity of the attachment measures.
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This investigation examined the impact of secure, anxious, and avoidant attachment styles on romantic relationships in a longitudinal study involving 144 dating couples. For both men and women, the secure attachment style was associated with greater relationship interdependence, commitment, trust, and satisfaction than were the anxious or avoidant attachment styles. The anxious and avoidant styles were associated with less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions in the relationship, whereas the reverse was true of the secure style. Six-month follow-up interviews revealed that, among those individuals who disbanded, avoidant men experienced significantly less post-dissolution emotional distress than did other people.
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This study reports on the development of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale, a new measure for assessing the quality of marriage and other similar dyads. The 32 item scale is designed for use with either married or unmarried cohabiting couples. Despite widespread criticisms of the concept of adjustment, the study proceeds from the pragmatic position that a new measure, which is theoretically grounded, relevant, valid, and highly reliable, is necessary since marital and dyadic adjustment continue to be researched. This factor analytic study tests a conceptual definition set forth in earlier work and suggests the existence of four empirically verified components of dyadic adjustment which can be used as subscales [dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion, dyadic consensus and affectional expression]. Evidence is presented suggesting content, criterion related, and construct validity. High scale reliability is reported. The possibility of item weighting is considered and endorsed as a potential measurement technique, but it is not adopted for the present Dyadic Adjustment Scale. It is concluded that the Dyadic Adjustment Scale represents a significant improvement over other measures of marital adjustment, but a number of troublesome methodological issues remain for future research.
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The present study examined the relationships between mental models of attachment and both overall psychological adjustment and relationship-related outcomes. Mental models were assessed in the context of a specific relationship as well as for people in general. Overall, partner-specific mental models had stronger and more numerous associations with the outcome variables than did general mental models. General models (especially model of self) were most strongly associated with measures of overall psychological adjustment. However, specific mental models were much more strongly associated with relationship-specific outcomes such as feelings of romantic love or relationship satisfaction than were general mental models. Self-esteem was more strongly related to global psychological adjustment than was model of self, but specific model of self was more strongly related to outcomes in relationships. Trust was not related to any of the dependent variables in the study.
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integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) represents both a continuation and a marked departure from previous attempts to apply behavioral theory to intervention with married couples / describe our theoretical model of relationship distress, emphasizing the development of that distress / focus on our theory of therapeutic change / focus on assessment, emphasizing a functional analysis of behavior, as well as intervention / focus on the "how-to-do-it" practice of IBCT / describe several stages in this therapy, then focus on particular strategies for bringing about change and promoting acceptance (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
This chapter will examine the role of emotion before, during, and after a supportive interaction takes place. Both the perspective of the support seeker and the support giver will be considered. Previous work focused on reasons for not seeking social support, most of which stemmed from negative emotional outcomes. We will build on this previous work in 4 major ways. First, we draw upon our theory of interactive coping, Sensitive Interaction Systems Theory (SIST). With this theoretical base, we explore other ways in which emotion can affect support seekers, including their choice of support activation behaviors, as well as their response to their partner's attempt to comfort them. Next, we examine the role that emotion plays in a potential supporter's willingness and ability to give effective support, and in their response to their partner's reaction to their supportive attempts. Finally, we examine how all of these expressions of emotion function within a supportive context to affect both short-term and long-term outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
This book is [a] comprehensive, authoritative guide to therapy with couples. Placing couple therapy at the center of cutting-edge developments in the broader domain of psychotherapy, the volume presents a balanced mixture of both major enduring clinical methods and recent conceptual, clinical, and empirical advances. Presenting a wealth of practical and theoretical information on the full range of couple therapy interventions, the work is invaluable for a variety of professionals, including marital and family therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, counselors, and nurses. It also serves as [a] text for advanced courses in these areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
The interventions described in this chapter represent the products of a new approach to empirically building marital therapy interventions. The chapter addresses why there is a need for a new marital therapy, discusses the characteristics of "dysfunctional" and "functional" marriages, provides a basic description of sound marital house theory, and details the goals and processes of the intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) is an empirically validated approach to couple therapy . . . that focuses on compelling intrapsychic emotional responses and the patterns implicit in the process of interaction / the inner experience of the partners and the relationship events are assumed to be mutually determining and are reprocessed and restructured in therapy to create a more secure bond between partners theoretical model of marital distress [attachment and marriage, emotion in marriage] / theory of change [change strategies] / role of the therapist / general techniques / clinical issues (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
Provides an overview of what is currently known about hurt feelings and speculates regarding its causes and functions. The chapter begins with an examination of the status of hurt feelings as an emotion. Given that the emotions of hurt feelings have not been widely studied and do not appear in most taxonomies of emotion, the authors have only partial answers regarding the characteristics of hurt feelings and how they relate to other emotions. After discussing the features of hurt feelings, the authors offer a theoretical perspective that attempts to explain why people's feelings are hurt, and then they review the sparse empirical findings that bear on this theory. Common behavioral reactions to being hurt are introduced, followed by a discussion of why people hurt one another's feelings in the 1st place. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Article
A study with 130 newlywed couples was designed to explore marital interaction processes that are predictive of divorce or marital stability, processes that further discriminate between happily and unhappily married stable couples. We explore seven types of process models: (a) anger as a dangerous emotion, (b) active listening, (c) negative affect reciprocity, (d) negative start-up by the wife, (e) de-escalation, (f) positive affect models, and (g) physiological soothing of the male. Support was not found for the models of anger as a dangerous emotion, active listening, or negative affect reciprocity. Support was found for models of the husband's rejecting his wife's influence, negative start-up by the wife, a lack of de-escalation of low intensity negative wife affect by the husband, or a lack of de-escalation of high intensity husband negative affect by the wife, and a lack of physiological soothing of the male, all predicting divorce. Support was found for a contingent positive affect model and for balance models (i.e., ratio models) of positive-to-negative affect predicting satisfaction among stable couples. Divorce and stability were predicted with 83% accuracy and satisfaction with 80% accuracy.
Article
The connection between attachment style and affect regulation, proposed by attachment theorists, was explored in the context of long-term dating relationships. Seventy-two couples completed questionnaire measures of attachment (using a four-group forced-choice item, together with scales tapping Comfort with closeness, and Anxiety over relationships) and emotional control (in which subjects rated own and partner's control of anger, sadness, and anxiety, and the extent to which partners wanted them to control these emotions). Couples in which both partners endorsed insecure attachment styles (using the forced-choice measure) reported greater emotional control than did couples with two secure partners. Data from the attachment scales also supported the link between insecure attachment and emotional control: Comfort with closeness was negatively related both to one's own emotional control and to perceptions that partners wanted subjects to control their sadness; Anxiety over relationships was associated with perceptions that partners controlled sadness and wanted subjects to control their anger and sadness. The link between insecure attachment and the control of negative emotion remained significant when the frequency of experiencing such emotion was controlled. The association between attachment dimensions and other responses to negative emotions was also explored, and was consistent with attachment theory.
Chapter
Types of Relationships and EmotionTypes of People and EmotionPossible Interactions between Types of People and Types of RelationshipsResponsiveness to Needs and Expression of Emotion: Reciprocal EffectsConcluding Comments
Article
To address the validity of a common procedure for assessing problem–solving communication behavior in marriage, this study investigated the extent to which communication behavior is influenced by the difficulty of the topic being discussed. Married couples engaged in a sequence of four videotaped problem–solving conversations, and the topics discussed in each conversation were coded for difficulty. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to investigate both proximal and distal influences on communication behavior. At the proximal level, couples did not change their communication behavior in response to changes in topic difficulty that occurred across the four conversations. At the distal level, couples experiencing conflict over a highly difficult topic reported low relationship satisfaction and used negative forms of communication behavior in all their problem–solving conversations, regardless of the issue being discussed. The relationship between topic difficulty and communication behavior was mediated by marital satisfaction.
Article
In a within-subjects design in which couples acted as their own controls, assessment was completed at four times: at the time of intial contact, after an eight-week waiting period, after eight sessions of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy, and at an eight-week follow-up. Couples reported no significant changes on measures of dyadic adjustment, intimacy, target complaint reduction and goal attainment after the waiting period, but significant changes were found after treatment.
Article
This article examines the adequacy of the “rules of thumb” conventional cutoff criteria and several new alternatives for various fit indexes used to evaluate model fit in practice. Using a 2‐index presentation strategy, which includes using the maximum likelihood (ML)‐based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) and supplementing it with either Tucker‐Lewis Index (TLI), Bollen's (1989) Fit Index (BL89), Relative Noncentrality Index (RNI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Gamma Hat, McDonald's Centrality Index (Mc), or root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), various combinations of cutoff values from selected ranges of cutoff criteria for the ML‐based SRMR and a given supplemental fit index were used to calculate rejection rates for various types of true‐population and misspecified models; that is, models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and models with misspecified factor loading(s). The results suggest that, for the ML method, a cutoff value close to .95 for TLI, BL89, CFI, RNI, and Gamma Hat; a cutoff value close to .90 for Mc; a cutoff value close to .08 for SRMR; and a cutoff value close to .06 for RMSEA are needed before we can conclude that there is a relatively good fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. Furthermore, the 2‐index presentation strategy is required to reject reasonable proportions of various types of true‐population and misspecified models. Finally, using the proposed cutoff criteria, the ML‐based TLI, Mc, and RMSEA tend to overreject true‐population models at small sample size and thus are less preferable when sample size is small.
Chapter
IntroductionThe Characteristics That Distinguish Basic EmotionsDoes Any One Characteristic Distinguish the Basic Emotions?The Value of the Basic Emotions PositionAcknowledgementsReferences