ArticlePublisher preview available

Attachment Anxiety and Reactions to Relationship Threat: The Benefits and Costs of Inducing Guilt in Romantic Partners

American Psychological Association
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Authors:
Nickola C Overall at University of Auckland
Nickola C Overall
Yuthika U. Girme at Simon Fraser University
Yuthika U. Girme
Edward P Lemay at University of Maryland, College Park
Edward P Lemay
Matthew D Hammond at Victoria University of Wellington
Matthew D Hammond
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

The current research tested whether individuals high in attachment anxiety react to relationship threats in ways that can help them feel secure and satisfied in their relationship. Individuals higher in attachment anxiety experienced greater hurt feelings on days they faced partner criticism or conflict (Study 1) and during observed conflict discussions (Study 2). These pronounced hurt feelings triggered exaggerated expressions of hurt to induce guilt in the partner. Partners perceived the hurt feelings of more anxious individuals to be more intense than low anxious individuals' hurt and, in turn, experienced greater levels of guilt (Study 1). More anxious individuals were also rated by objective coders as exhibiting more guilt-induction strategies during conflict, which led to increases in partner guilt (Study 2). Moreover, partner guilt helped anxious individuals maintain more positive relationship evaluations. Although greater partner guilt had detrimental effects for individuals low in anxiety, more anxious individuals experienced more stable perceptions of their partner's commitment and more positive relationship evaluations when their partner felt more guilt. Unfortunately, these benefits were accompanied by significant declines in the partner's relationship satisfaction. These results illustrate that anxious reactions to threat are not uniformly destructive; instead, the reassuring emotions their reactions induce in relationship partners help anxious individuals feel satisfied and secure in their partner's commitment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
A preview of this full-text is provided by American Psychological Association.
Learn more
Content available from Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Attachment Anxiety and Reactions to Relationship Threat:
The Benefits and Costs of Inducing Guilt in Romantic Partners
Nickola C. Overall and Yuthika U. Girme
University of Auckland
Edward P. Lemay Jr.
University of New Hampshire
Matthew D. Hammond
University of Auckland
The current research tested whether individuals high in attachment anxiety react to relationship threats
in ways that can help them feel secure and satisfied in their relationship. Individuals higher in attachment
anxiety experienced greater hurt feelings on days they faced partner criticism or conflict (Study 1) and
during observed conflict discussions (Study 2). These pronounced hurt feelings triggered exaggerated
expressions of hurt to induce guilt in the partner. Partners perceived the hurt feelings of more
anxious individuals to be more intense than low anxious individuals’ hurt and, in turn, experienced
greater levels of guilt (Study 1). More anxious individuals were also rated by objective coders as
exhibiting more guilt-induction strategies during conflict, which led to increases in partner guilt
(Study 2). Moreover, partner guilt helped anxious individuals maintain more positive relationship
evaluations. Although greater partner guilt had detrimental effects for individuals low in anxiety,
more anxious individuals experienced more stable perceptions of their partner’s commitment and
more positive relationship evaluations when their partner felt more guilt. Unfortunately, these
benefits were accompanied by significant declines in the partner’s relationship satisfaction. These
results illustrate that anxious reactions to threat are not uniformly destructive; instead, the reassuring
emotions their reactions induce in relationship partners help anxious individuals feel satisfied and
secure in their partner’s commitment.
Keywords: attachment anxiety, relationship conflict, hurt feelings, guilt, anger
A mass of research indicates that attachment anxiety under-
mines the quality of adult romantic relationships. Individuals high
in attachment anxiety yearn for closeness and acceptance but
harbor deep-seated fears that they will be rejected or abandoned
(Bowlby, 1969,1973,1980). Such fears create hypersensitivity to
rejection and undermine coping when faced with relationship
challenges (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2003;Simpson & Rholes,
2012). For example, highly anxious individuals experience more
intense and prolonged distress and behave in less constructive ways
during conflict (e.g., Campbell, Simpson, Boldry, & Kashy, 2005;
Overall & Sibley, 2009;Simpson, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996;Tran &
Simpson, 2009). Unfortunately, such destructive reactions tend to
incite aggressive and rejecting responses in the partner (Downey,
Frietas, Michaelis, & Khouri, 1998), which prevents desired closeness
and is likely to foster dissatisfaction in both partners.
Yet, anxious individuals are also likely to respond to relation-
ship threats in ways that are more conducive to their overarching
goal to gain and maintain closeness. Relationship insecurities can
simultaneously activate opposing motivations, including the mo-
tivation to protect against expected rejection, which tends to trig-
ger anger and hostility, as well as the motivation to restore con-
nection (Murray & Holmes, 2009). The combined rejection fears
and need for closeness at the core of attachment anxiety exempli-
fies this motivational ambivalence. Accordingly, in situations
which typically activate self-protection goals, such as separating
from a romantic partner, anxious individuals also exhibit strong
approach tendencies to maintain closeness (Mikulincer, Shaver,
Bar-On, & Ein-Dor, 2010). Indeed, the emotionally-charged re-
sponses shown by anxious individuals during conflict likely rep-
resent protest at the potential loss of the relationship bond and
attempts to ensure partners attend to the self and modify hurtful
behavior—that is, sustain relationship connections (Ainsworth,
Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978;Bowlby, 1973;Cassidy & Berlin,
This article was published Online First September 30, 2013.
Nickola C. Overall and Yuthika U. Girme, School of Psychology,
University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Edward P. Lemay Jr.,
Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire; Matthew D.
Hammond, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New
Zealand.
This research was supported by Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden
Fund Grant UOA0811 and University of Auckland Science Faculty Re-
search Development Fund Grant 3626244 awarded to Nickola C. Overall.
Edward P. Lemay Jr.’s participation in this research was supported by a
research grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (BCS
1145349). We thank Helena Struthers, Rosabel Tan, Kelsey Deane, Des-
mond Packwood, Briar Douglas, Phoebe Molloy, Shuai Han, David Pirie,
Jan Trayes, and Lucy Travaglia for their contribution to data collection and
observational coding.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Nickola
C. Overall, School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag
92019, Auckland, New Zealand. E-mail: n.overall@auckland.ac.nz
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology © 2013 American Psychological Association
2014, Vol. 106, No. 2, 235–256 0022-3514/14/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0034371
235
... For example, individuals high in anxiety are eager to disclose to their partners (Tan et al., 2012), desire high levels of support from their partner (Anders & Tucker, 2000;Collins & Feeney, 2004), and want to provide their partners support to be valued and loved in return (Feeney et al., 2013;Lemay & Spongberg, 2015). Such heightened dependence also means that anxious individuals experience intense distress when encountering relationship conflict (Campbell et al., 2005;Haydon et al., 2020), leading anxious individuals to protest against threats to the relationship bond by seeking reassurance of their partner's care and emphasizing their hurt feelings and dependence (Overall et al., 2014;Jayamaha et al., 2016). ...
... The specific needs, goals, and behaviors associated with attachment anxiety should shape their experience of relationship power (see Table 1). Anxious individuals' hunger for acceptance is hard to satiate and, combined with fears that the partners are not committed, amplify dependence on intimate partners (Overall et al., 2014;Lemay & Dudley, 2009). Prominent theories of power highlight why this context will produce a sense of low power: People experience lower power when they lack control over needs and goals (Keltner et al., 2003), especially fundamental needs in relationships (Thibaut & Kelley, 1978). ...
... On the other hand, partners are often motivated to attenuate anxious individuals' insecure thoughts and distress by exaggerating affection and providing reassurance (e.g., Lemay & Dudley, 2011;Lemay & Ryan, 2018). Further, anxious individuals' exaggeration of their hurt feelings and need for care induces guilt in committed partners (Jayamaha et al., 2016;Overall et al., 2014), motivating amend-making and reassurance efforts (Baumeister et al., 1994) that likely undercut the partners' sense of power. Taken together, these potential opposing processes might produce mixed or null associations between attachment anxiety and partners' experiences of power. ...
The Relational Nature of Attachment and Power: Attachment Avoidance and Withdrawal Limit Partners' Power
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2025
  • Pers Soc Psychol Bull
Power emerges from the relational dynamics between two people, but it is often studied as a feature of the individual. The current studies apply a dyadic perspective to show that core relational beliefs not only shape actors’ relationship power but also generate behaviors that constrain their partner’s power. Across five studies with Israeli, German, and New Zealand couples (total 1,256 dyads), greater attachment avoidance and anxiety were associated with lower actor power. Revealing novel dyadic effects, greater attachment avoidance was associated with partner’s experiencing lower power. Studies 4 and 5 showed that actors higher in avoidance enacted greater withdrawal during conflict and daily life as perceived by partners and observed by independent coders. Actors’ withdrawal, in turn, predicted partners experiencing lower power. These findings advance power and relationship theories and research by highlighting how relational characteristics and behaviors (withdrawal) likely shape the experience of both actors’ and partners’ power in social relationships.
View
... Indirect opposition also has divergent effects across actors and partners. Insecure actors who successfully induce guilt in the partner feel reassured of their partner's commitment and thus feel more satisfied (Overall et al., 2014). This benefit for the actor, however, is offset by harmful effects for both the actor and the partner. ...
... The failure to target specific problems can leave problems unaddressed, particularly when the partner becomes defensive and resentful of the obligations communicated by indirect opposition (Jayamaha et al., 2016). Targets of induced guilt also may become less committed and satisfied across time, threatening the stability of the relationship (Overall et al., 2014). Nevertheless, understanding that these behaviors deliver reassurance can provide insights into why indirect opposition may continue despite these broad costs, and emphasizes that fostering alternative behaviors (e.g., direct cooperation) needs to involve actors expressing, and partners being responsive to, needs for reassurance. ...
Conflict in couple relationships
Chapter
  • Jan 2025
This chapter describes key advances in understanding the effects of conflict behavior in couple relationships. We illustrate that (1) most types of couple conflict behavior are not routinely harmful or beneficial, (2) understanding what constitutes harmful or beneficial conflict behavior requires identifying the reasons conflict behavior affects actors and their partner, and (3) these differing functions mean that the effects of conflict behavior vary according to contextual factors—qualities of the situation, actor, partner, and external environment—which all interact to predict communication effectiveness. We conclude that managing conflict effectively requires enacting a range of different behaviors depending on the needs and demands of the situation. We then present a new model of calibrated dyadic communication that considers how these varying factors infuse the communication process to affect communication effectiveness and conclude by highlighting the implications the model has for future research.
View
... Avoidance, functioning as a defense mechanism, contrasts sharply with the dependency-driven behaviors characteristic of love addiction. At Time 2, the connection between LA and Avoidance slightly increases but remains relatively weak compared to other factors, such as Emotional Reliance or Lack of Social Self-confidence [54]. This suggests a nuanced shift, where individuals with love addiction may develop avoidant tendencies in response to repeated emotional disappointments or relationship failures. ...
A longitudinal network analysis of the relationship between love addiction, insecure attachment patterns, and interpersonal dependence
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2025
The present study employed a network analysis approach to explore interrelationships among love addiction, attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and interpersonal dependence. The sample included 80 couples (N = 160) in romantic relationships, assessed longitudinally through online self-reports at the study's initiation and three months later. The findings revealed that attachment anxiety correlated strongly with low self-confidence, attachment avoidance related to autonomy, and love addiction showed a positive association with emotional dependence but a negative association with attachment avoidance. These findings underscore the associations among love addiction, insecure attachment patterns, and dimensions of interpersonal dependence. Addressing the core link between love addiction and insecure attachment patterns may enhance the psychological well-being of both partners in a couple. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-025-02605-3.
View
... Maximum likelihood estimation uses available case analysis, and therefore the contribution of the effects was weighted by the reliability of the data (i.e., those with more data contribute more to the estimates of effects). Thus, missing data was partially accounted for when using this statistical approach, and no imputing or estimation was required (e.g., Overall et al. 2014;. ...
Interpersonal Conversations Are Characterized by Increases in Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia
Article
Full-text available
Multiple theoretical perspectives connect vagally mediated heart rate variability, or respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and self‐regulatory and interpersonal processes. Together they suggest that self‐regulatory effort and positive social experiences may lead to short‐term increases in RSA, which in turn are related to adaptive emotional, social, and physical functioning. However, the extant literature on adult social interactions does not clearly support this premise. To study the connections between dyadic social interactions and phasic changes in RSA, the current research examined 356 dyads (712 adults between 18 and 36 years; 50% males, 50% females) across three studies in which participants engaged in face‐to‐face social interactions in a laboratory setting. Relationship type and conversation context varied across studies, and high‐frequency power was used to estimate RSA across resting baseline, anticipatory periods, and conversation tasks. Analyses indicated that anticipation of and engagement in dyadic social interactions were associated with an increase in RSA from a resting baseline. The mean estimated effect size for anticipation was r = 0.50, and the mean estimated effect size for conversation was r = 0.34. Associations were robust across relationship types, including strangers and romantic couples, conversation context, including topic and valence, and across speaking and listening roles. The present research provides consistent evidence for increased RSA in anticipation of and during in‐person social interactions among adults, prompting the need for further investigation into potential underlying mechanisms.
View
... However, there are indications from previous studies to support this finding, including Besser & Priel (2009), which indicated that an anxious attachment style is associated with a stronger return to perceived romantic rejection, and Girme, et al., (2014), which found that anxious attachment people have an excessive sense of threat from rejection of relationships, any belittling from the husband or wife, and great stress when any criticism or conflict with the husband or wife. ...
Attachment Style and Conflict Resolution Strategies among Married Couples in the Light of Some Demographic Variables
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
This study aims to specify relations between Conflict Resolution Strategies, adult attachment style in a sample of married couples. It also aims to find out the role of attachment styles in predicting conflict resolution strategies the sample consists of (203) males, and females, the researcher used attachment scale, conflict resolution strategies questionnaire-) Kurdek1994. The findings of the study reveal that there is a statistically significant relationship between conflict resolution strategies and all attachment styles. The results also show that there is predictive ability of the attachment styles to Conflict Resolution Strategies.
View
... The interpersonal processes may be further degraded by the additional stressors resulting from the pandemic. Individuals who are anxiously attached may seek excessive reassurance from their partner, who is also distressed as a result of the pandemic (Overall et al., 2014;Shaver et al., 2005). The way individuals regulate their affect in a relationship is closely linked to their overall psychological and physical health and their corresponding health-promoting or healthdamaging behaviors (Pietromonaco & Collins, 2017). ...
Understanding Romantic Relationships Using Strength and Strain Model in the Context of COVID-19
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2024
The Strength and Strain Model (Slatcher & Selcuk, 2017) of marriage and physical health helps to comprehend the association between the quality of marital relationships and physical health. The article summarizes the interplay between relationships and physical health within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We begin with a brief review highlighting the impact of marital strengths (positive components of marriage), marital strains (negative components of marriage), other stressors, and individual differences on the overall physical well-being of individuals and couples. Amidst the pandemic, the strength aspect gains prominence, with the partner’s responsiveness, satisfaction, intimacy, psychological well-being, and resilience, acting as buffers against the other pandemic-related stressors. Positive interpersonal processes have the potential to reinforce the immune system and alleviate the health repercussions of the pandemic. Conversely, the strain aspect might exacerbate the health vulnerabilities by comprising the functioning systems of the body and amplifying the health issues. We conclude with a brief discussion of the promising implications and future directions in the study of interpersonal processes and physical health.
View
... Accordingly, highly anxious individuals tend to feel that partners do not fulfil their relatedness needs (Hadden et al., 2016), including feeling less accepted, valued, and cared for (Lemay & Clark, 2008;Overall & Sibley, 2009), even when their partners are as accepting, valuing, and caring as partners of secure individuals (Collins & Feeney, 2000;Rodriguez et al., 2019). These negative perceptions occur even though highly anxious individuals crave for their partners to fulfil relatedness needs, which creates hyperemotional responses designed to pull evidence of their partners' love (Girme et al., 2021;Overall et al., 2014). Unfortunately, chronic concerns about whether and how long partners will meet relatedness needs, and the accompanying destructive reactions, are central to why highly anxious individuals report poorer relationship satisfaction (Hadden et al., 2014). ...
Greater average levels of relatedness need fulfilment across daily and monthly life predict lower attachment insecurities across time
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
Attachment insecurity is characterized by chronic concerns about whether partners can fulfil core relatedness needs, including feeling loved and cared about. In two longitudinal studies, our aim was to extend current evidence that certain relationship conditions buffer attachment insecurity by (1) focusing on the central ingredient—fulfilment of relatedness needs—that likely account for buffering effects, and (2) illustrate the importance of general experiences of relatedness need fulfilment across couples’ lives. Couple members completed initial assessments of attachment insecurity, reported on the fulfilment of relatedness needs every month for 6 months (Study 1) or daily for 3 weeks (Study 2), and then completed re-assessments of attachment insecurity 6-months (Study 1) or 9-months (Study 2) later. Across both studies, greater fulfilment of relatedness needs across monthly and daily relationship life predicted decreases in attachment anxiety and avoidance. General experiences of relatedness across couples’ lives appear to reflect a relationship environment that fulfils core needs for love, care, and regard that cultivate attachment security.
View
A boost to relational value: Examining the link between partner expressions of gratitude and self-esteem in close relationships
Article
Expressions of gratitude are associated with many benefits in the context of social relationships. Indeed, Algoe’s (2012) find-remind-and-bind theory of gratitude proposes that expressions of gratitude serve the innately relational function of finding and drawing people closer to responsive relationship partners. Despite this prior work demonstrating the importance of gratitude to relationships, no prior research or theory has considered how a partner’s expressions of gratitude may influence the self. Based on sociometer theory (Leary, 1999, 2021), we hypothesized that partner expressions of gratitude signal relational value, thereby predicting enhanced self-esteem for the target of gratitude expressions. To test this novel proposition, we drew upon two archival studies. Study 1 used 11 years of longitudinal data in which 4,990 individuals ( k = 33,846) in committed relationships reported on their partner’s expression of gratitude and their self-esteem at yearly intervals. In Study 2, undergraduate students ( N = 119 people and k = 891) completed a 10-day diary survey in which they reported on a romantic partner or close other’s gratitude expression, their self-esteem, and their feelings of relational value. In both studies, greater partner expressions of gratitude were associated with greater self-esteem at the within- and between-person levels, even controlling for prior wave levels of self-esteem. Moreover, in Study 2, greater perceived relational value mediated the association between greater daily partner expressions of gratitude and greater daily self-esteem. These results provide initial evidence that gratitude expressions not only function to guide people to more meaningful relationships, but are also associated with enhanced relational value, and therefore greater self-esteem.
View
Emotion regulation in couple relationships
Chapter
  • Jan 2025
Regulating emotions effectively is central to building and sustaining healthy relationships. In this chapter, we use three key exemplar emotion regulation strategies (emotional suppression, cognitive reappraisal, rumination) to illustrate the important role emotion regulation plays in couple functioning. Our review demonstrates that emotional suppression and rumination within couples’ interactions often harm emotional and relational outcomes (e.g., exacerbate negative emotions, generate poorer responsiveness and problem-solving), and undermine personal and relationship well-being. Cognitive reappraisal tends to have less robust and mixed beneficial effects, highlighting needed advances in understanding what types of emotion regulation are adaptive. Our review also illustrates that emotion regulation is interpersonal: one person’s emotion regulation influences their partner’s outcomes and may often elicit interpersonal processes, such as interpersonal emotion regulation behavior in the partner (e.g., reassurance, co-rumination). We end by noting important future directions to uncover how the consequences of emotion regulation may vary across different contexts.
View
Carrying Ostracism Overnight: The Cognitive Mechanism Underlying the Effect of Daily Workplace Ostracism on Next‐Day Work Engagement
Article
  • Nov 2024
Integrating cognitive appraisal theory of stress and attachment theory, the current study explored the influence of daily workplace ostracism on employee short‐term work engagement and examined the mediating role of negative work reflection and the moderating effects of employee attachment styles (i.e., attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety). To test the theoretical model, we employed an experience sampling method to collect daily diary data over 10 consecutive workdays, resulting in a final sample of 834 observations drawn from 133 participants. Results of multilevel path analysis indicated that daily workplace ostracism was negatively related to employee next‐day work engagement through negative work reflection at night. In addition, we found that employee attachment avoidance not only moderated the within‐person relationship between daily workplace ostracism and negative work reflection at night but also alleviated the indirect effect of daily workplace ostracism on next‐day work engagement via negative work reflection at night. Taken together, our study contributed by unfolding the dynamic cognitive appraisal process of workplace ostracism and identifying the significant role of attachment avoidance in shaping employees' cognitive reactions to daily workplace ostracism.
View
Predicting Negative Spousal Attitudes Toward Depressed Persons: A Test of Coyne’s Interpersonal Model
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2000
The utility of Coyne’s (1976a) interactional model in predicting negative spousal attitudes toward depressed patients was examined. Eighty-nine couples with at least 1 member in treatment for depression were selected on the basis of semistructured diagnostic interviews. Overall, spouses living with a depressed patient reported significantly more distress than population norms. Consistent with prediction, patients’ reassurance seeking and spouses’ mood contributed to negative spousal attitudes. Additional analyses demonstrated that these effects persisted even after controlling for spouse marital adjustment, suggesting that negative spousal attitudes were more than a simple reflection of marital maladjustment.
View
Attachment and Anger in an Anxiety-Provoking Situation
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 1999
In this study, women were told they would engage in an anxiety-provoking activity. Women then waited with their dating partner for the activity to begin. During this 5-min “stress” period, each couple's interaction was videotaped unobtrusively. Each couple was then told that the woman would not have to do the stressful activity, and each couple was unobtrusively videotaped again during a 5-min “recovery” period. The behavior of both partners was then coded during both periods. The major results revealed that more-avoidant men displayed greater anger during the stress period, especially if their partners were more anxious or distressed or sought more support from them. More-avoidant women also displayed greater anger, particularly if they were highly anxious or distressed and received little support or encountered anger from their partners. During the recovery period, highly ambivalent women behaved more negatively toward their partners if they had been more anxious in the stress period or had sought more support from their partners. These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory.
View
Adult Attachment Style and Individual Differences in Functional Versus Dysfunctional Experiences of Anger
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 1998
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.
View
Attachment Styles and Repressive Defensiveness: The Accessibility and Architecture of Affective Memories
Article
Full-text available
  • May 1995
One hundred and twenty Israeli students were classified into secure, avoidant, and anxious–ambivalent attachment groups. They completed scales that tap the construct of repressive defensiveness and recalled early personal experiences of anger, anxiety, sadness, and happiness. Secure people reported moderate defensiveness and low anxiety and had easy access to negative memories without being overwhelmed by the spreading of the dominant emotional tone to nondominant emotions. Anxious–ambivalent people were unable to repress negative affects, reported high anxiety, had easy access to negative memories, and could not inhibit emotional spreading. Avoidant people reported high levels of defensiveness and anxiety and showed low accessibility to negative memories. The discussion emphasizes the parallel between a person's interaction with the social world and the makeup of his or her inner world.
View
Shamed Into Anger? The Relation of Shame and Guilt to Anger and Self-Reported Aggression
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 1992
The relation of shame and guilt to anger and aggression has been the focus of considerable theoretical discussion, but empirical findings have been inconsistent. Two recently developed measures of affective style were used to examine whether shame-proneness and guilt-proneness are differentially related to anger, hostility, and aggression. In 2 studies, 243 and 252 undergraduates completed the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory, the Symptom Checklist 90, and the Spielberger Trait Anger Scale. Study 2 also included the Test of Self-Conscious Affect and the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory. Shame-proneness was consistently correlated with anger arousal, suspiciousness, resentment, irritability, a tendency to blame others for negative events, and indirect (but not direct) expressions of hostility. Proneness to “shame-free” guilt was inversely related to externalization of blame and some indices of anger, hostility, and resentment.
View
Marital Interaction and Satisfaction: A Longitudinal View
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 1989
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.
View
Gender and Conflict Structure in Marital Interaction: A Replication and Extension
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 1993
Twenty-nine married couples engaged in 2 videotaped discussions: 1 in which the husband requested a change in the wife and 1 in which the wife requested a change in the husband. Conflict behavior was assessed by self-report and observer ratings. Neither conflict structure (who requested the change) nor gender was associated with the positivity or negativity of spouses' behavior. During discussions of husbands' issues, wives and husbands did not differ in demand/withdraw behavior, whereas when discussing wives' issues, wives were more demanding and husbands were more withdrawing. Husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction predicted an increase in wives' satisfaction 1 year later, whereas wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction predicted a decline in wives' satisfaction 1 year later. These results replicate and extend those of our earlier study (Christensen & Heavey, 1990).
View
Accommodation Processes During the Early Years of Marriage
Chapter
  • Aug 1998
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.
View
View
View