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The Burden of Empathy: Partners' Responses to Divergence of Interests in Daily Life
Abstract
Empathy has often been discussed as a beneficial process from which favorable individual and interpersonal experiences may be derived. The present work investigates whether empathy may sometimes be a burden rather than a benefit, under certain interpersonal circumstances. Specifically, we hypothesized that encountering situations of divergence of interests with a partner may cause discomfort, and that empathizing with one's partner would exacerbate this discomfort, resulting in higher levels of negative mood and stress that can affect relationship satisfaction. We tested these hypotheses using innovative experience sampling methodology in which both partners reported on their experiences in their natural environments. In support, we found that when people encountered divergence of interests with one's partner, as compared with when they did not, they experienced higher negative mood and stress and, consequently, lower relationship satisfaction. These effects were intensified, rather than reduced, by empathy. (PsycINFO Database Record
... However, couples' well-being is often challenged by conflicts of interests in which partners have different goals, needs, or preferences (Columbus et al., 2021;Righetti et al., 2016). To resolve such conflicts, individuals may give up their own self-interest to benefit the partner and their relationship (Van Lange et al., 1997). ...
... Eventually you decide not to go out with your friends and instead to the movies with your partner." This scenario is designed based on previous research identifying sacrifice situations that couples regularly encounter in daily life (Righetti et al., 2016;Visserman et al., 2018), and was modeled after previous work using relational sacrifice scenarios to assess costs and benefits . ...
... On average, couples reported being involved in their current relationship for 2.8 years (SD = 2.4 years, range = 4 months to 17 years); 35% lived together and 2.8% were married. The data come from a larger project on sacrifice in romantic relationships (e.g., Faure et al. 2018;Righetti et al., 2016;Visserman et al., 2018. ...
Romantic partners regularly sacrifice their own self-interest when partners' needs and preferences diverge. The present work examines the role of perceived partner responsiveness (PPR)-impressions that one's partner is understanding, caring, and validating-in positively shaping people's appraisals of their relational sacrifices. In Study 1, a preregistered experiment of romantically involved individuals (N = 548), we manipulated PPR (high, low, or control) in a hypothetical sacrifice scenario. In Study 2, we tracked romantic couples' (N = 126) in-lab conversations about a sacrifice (Study 2a), and their sacrifices in daily life (Study 2b). In Study 3, romantic couples (N = 111) engaged in lab conversations about a sacrifice that entailed making a change that one partner desired from the other, and reported on their progress 2 weeks later. In Study 4, we surveyed romantically involved individuals (N = 230) who recently made a life-changing sacrifice by relocating to a new city or country to support their partner's career. Across studies, results showed that higher PPR fostered more positive sacrifice appraisals (i.e., lower costs and viewing the act as less of a sacrifice, greater satisfaction, greater personal and relational benefits, lower regret) and greater sacrifice behavior (Study 3)-in part due to greater closeness with and lower negative affect toward the partner. Additionally, Study 4 suggested that PPR partly originated from the partner's efforts to fulfill fundamental psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness). Thus, PPR can play a critical role in lightening the load of daily and even life-changing sacrifices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... For example, one partner wants sushi for dinner, while the other prefers pizza, or one partner wants to buy a house in the city while the other wants to live a quieter lifestyle in the countryside. One way of solving these common and distressing [20] situations is that one partner decides to give up their own goal or preference to accommodate their partner's interest, that is they decide to sacrifice for their partner or the relationship. ...
... Empirical studies also show divergent outcomes of sacrifice for relationship wellbeing. Some have shown a positive association between sacrifice and relationship satisfaction [10,[23][24][25][26][27], others have shown a negative one [28][29][30], and others a null effect [20,31]. To solve this puzzle, Righetti et al. [32] conducted a large meta-analysis gathering data from 82 independent samples (N = 32,053) to examine the link between four different assessments of J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f sacrifice and personal and relationship well-being. ...
... Conflicts of interest between partners are distressing [20] and have the potential to disrupt the bond between people in irreversible ways [42]. However, given the interdependence that characterizes relationships [21], these situations are inevitable and people need to learn to navigate these complex interpersonal affairs. ...
While previous research has found that prosocial behavior increases personal and relationship well-being, a particularly costly type of prosocial behavior—sacrifice—can sometimes have aversive effects and is the focus of the current review. We consider effects for both the individual who enacts the sacrifice and the recipient. Sacrifice can take a toll on the giver’s well-being, is a mixed blessing for the recipient (when they perceive the sacrifice), and may have some harmful consequences for relationships in the long-run. We discuss the importance of finding the right strategies (e.g., alternative solutions, comparison of costs and rewards between partners, reappraisals) to navigate these complex interpersonal situations in which partners’ goals and preferences conflict.
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships, because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003) and research into attachment theory has shown that remaining available and responsive toward one's romantic partner is important in creating safety and security in a relationship (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2012). Indeed, recent research has indicated that goal conflict is negatively associated with relationship quality and personal well-being (Gere et al., 2011;Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016). Prior work has also shown that commitment drives individuals to support their partners only to the extent that the goals do not pose a threat to the relationship (Hui et al., 2014) and people are less likely to provide support when they feel goals might take their partner away from the relationship (B. ...
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). Indeed, goal conflict has been associated with lower relationship quality and personal well-being (Gere et al., 2011;Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016). Recent research has shown that goal conflict is negatively associated with different stages of the RC support process: openness to receiving support from a partner (Righetti et al., 2014), perceived partner support , and providing support toward a partner's goals (B. ...
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). Goal conflict is indeed negatively associated with relational and personal well-being (Gere et al., 2011;Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016). Only one study has examined whether goal conflict is associated with less support providing and found that more (vs. ...
Based on attachment theory, the theory of thriving through relationships describes the interpersonal process of relational catalyst (RC) support (i.e., emotional or practical support that is responsive to the recipient’s needs) for life’s opportunities in the absence of adversity. While existing literature is clear that partner support positively predicts goal outcomes overall, relatively little is known about by how much, for whom, in which kinds of relationships, and under what conditions partner support is beneficial for goal outcomes. I investigate these research questions in this six-paper thesis. I begin by evaluating the existing literature in a meta-analysis (Manuscript 1). I establish that partner support moderately and positively predicts goal outcomes. Responsive and practical support were equally effective providing support for the theory of thriving through relationships. In Manuscript 2, I use state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to identify the most important individual (attachment avoidance, well-being) and relational (relationship satisfaction, trust, commitment, empathy) predictors of partner support. Manuscript 3 focuses on the link between goal conflict and the RC support process (seeking, perceiving, and providing support as well as pursuing life’s opportunities). In three studies, I show that high goal conflict is a strong negative predictor of all parts of the RC support process. The final three manuscripts extend the thriving through relationships framework by showing that RC support can still be beneficial even in the presence of adversity (COVID-19). Manuscript 4 shows that RC support is effective for goal outcomes during the pandemic. I also show that goal conflict is negatively associated and successful negotiation of goal conflict positively associated with partner support (Manuscript 5) and goal outcomes (Manuscript 6). Together these studies provide robust evidence for the importance of partner support for goal outcomes and highlight several individual, relational, and contextual factors that predict the effectiveness of the support.
... The Investment Model further distinguishes dependence-"the descriptive, structural state of a relationship"-from commitment-"the psychological experience of that state" (Le & Agnew, 2003, p. 38) which involves feelings of attachment and the intent to sustain the relationship (Rusbult et al., 1998;Rusbult et al., 2012). Conflict of interests is linked to negative affect and behaviours (Columbus et al., in press;Durante, Eastwick, Finkel, Gangestad, & Simpson, 2016;Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016;Simpson, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996). Even coordination can be challenging to achieve in close relationships (Finkel et al., 2006). ...
... Second, the experience of interdependent situations may also feed back to reshape the bases of dependence. For example, recurrently encountering conflicts of interests with one's partner may decrease relationship satisfaction, while deciding to sacrifice in such situations may increase the investment size (Righetti et al., 2016;Rusbult et al., 1998). Thus, the experience of interdependent situations may both affect and be affected by the bases of dependence postulated by the Investment Model. ...
... However, interdependent situations also cause affective responses (Righetti et al., 2016;Gerpott et al., 2018), and may trigger the motivation-management system (S. L. Murray & Holmes, 2009) and attachment processes (Arriaga et al., 2017) proposed by recent theories. ...
A science of close relationships stands to benefit from an understanding of the situations in which interactions between partners take place. In this chapter, we briefly review recent advances in situation research. Within the current decade, several new taxonomies have been put forward that describe how people perceive situations. Functional Interdependence Theory, in particular, posits that people are well-prepared to understand situations in terms of interdependence. New instruments based on Functional Interdependence Theory and other taxonomies for the first time allow researchers to measure in a comprehensive way how people subjectively perceive situations. Coupled with experience sampling methods, which allow the collection of psychological measures in everyday life, these instruments enable researchers to paint a full picture of the interdependent situations people experience in their relationships. We discuss how studying the situations partners experience together in daily life allows researchers to find new answers to questions arising from a) Interdependence Theory, b) Attachment Theory, and c) theorising on relationship maintenance behaviours. Finally, we offer a framework for research on situational interdependence in close relationships.
... The Investment Model further distinguishes dependence-"the descriptive, structural state of a relationship"-from commitment-"the psychological experience of that state" (Le & Agnew, 2003, p. 38) which involves feelings of attachment and the intent to sustain the relationship (Rusbult et al., 1998;Rusbult et al., 2012). Conflict of interests is linked to negative affect and behaviours (Columbus et al., in press;Durante, Eastwick, Finkel, Gangestad, & Simpson, 2016;Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016;Simpson, Rholes, & Phillips, 1996). Even coordination can be challenging to achieve in close relationships (Finkel et al., 2006). ...
... Second, the experience of interdependent situations may also feed back to reshape the bases of dependence. For example, recurrently encountering conflicts of interests with one's partner may decrease relationship satisfaction, while deciding to sacrifice in such situations may increase the investment size (Righetti et al., 2016;Rusbult et al., 1998). Thus, the experience of interdependent situations may both affect and be affected by the bases of dependence postulated by the Investment Model. ...
... However, interdependent situations also cause affective responses (Righetti et al., 2016;Gerpott et al., 2018), and may trigger the motivation-management system (S. L. Murray & Holmes, 2009) and attachment processes (Arriaga et al., 2017) proposed by recent theories. ...
Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships - edited by Laura V. Machia June 2020
... To solve this divergence of interests and spend their Sunday together, either Sara or David may have to sacrifice their preference. Such situations are common in couples' everyday interactions (Righetti et al., 2016); and although sacrifices can benefit the relationship, they are inherently costly for the partner making the sacrifice (Righetti & Impett, 2017). Indeed, sacrifices evoke both positive and negative affect, in the sacrificer and recipient . ...
... Participants' mean age was 23.3 years (SD ¼ 3.7), and on average couples were romantically involved for 2.8 years (SD ¼ 29 months), with 35% cohabitating. The data come from a larger project on sacrifice in romantic relationships (e.g., Righetti et al., 2016). Originally, 130 couples participated in the study, but one couple broke up before completing the experience sampling procedure, and three couples did not follow the instructions properly. ...
... Both partners received the link at the exact same time in order to match their replies as closely as possible. On average, participants responded to 86.6% of the bi-hourly surveys (see also Righetti et al., 2016). ...
When romantic partners sacrifice their own self-interest to benefit the relationship, the sacrificer or recipient may—for various reasons—be biased in how they perceive the costs that the sacrificer incurs. In Study 1, romantic couples ( N = 125) rated their own and their partner’s costs after a conversation about a sacrifice in the laboratory, followed by extensive experience sampling in their natural environment. In Study 2, a preregistered experiment, individuals ( N = 775) imagined a scenario in which they, their partner, or an unknown person sacrificed and rated the associated costs and benefits. Both studies demonstrated a consistent discrepancy between perceptions of own and partner sacrifice, driven primarily by people underestimating their own sacrifice costs and overestimating the benefits (Study 2). Results across studies showed that this underestimation bias helps people to feel better and feel more satisfied in the relationship when giving up their own goals and preferences for the relationship.
... Some studies found that sacrifice was positively associated with well-being (e.g., Chen & Li, 2007;Lan et al., 2017;Ruppel & Curran, 2012), whereas others documented that sacrifice was negatively related to well-being (e.g., Totenhagen & Curran, 2011;Whitton, Stanley, & Markman, 2007;Young & Curran, 2016). Others still found no association between the two (e.g., Impett, Gable, & Peplau, 2005;Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016;Totenhagen, Curran, Serrido, & Butler, 2013), a finding that is SACRIFICE AND AMBIVALENCE 7 consistent with preliminary results from a recent meta-analysis of the link between actual performed sacrifice and relationship well-being . ...
... On the enactor's side, there are clear advantages of performing a sacrifice. For instance, because encountering situations of divergence of interests with one's partner is an aversive state (Righetti et al., 2016), by sacrificing, an individual can avoid burdensome discussions and solve the situation in a way that partners can still pursue activities together (Kelley, 1979). Furthermore, given that people feel good about behaving in a moral and altruistic way (e.g., Hofmann, Wisneski, Brandt, & Skitka, 2014), enactors may feel proud of themselves for behaving in a prosocial and caring way toward their partner. ...
... On the other hand, there are also several reasons why sacrifice may induce enactors to experience negative affect. First, merely encountering situations of divergence of interests with one's partner triggers negative affect (Righetti et al., 2016). Second, by sacrificing, people cannot fulfill their personal goals or preferences, and when people cannot achieve their goals, they are likely to experience negative affect and frustration (e.g., Brunstein, 1993;Carver & Scheier, 1990;Emmons, 1986). ...
People in close relationships often need to sacrifice their own preferences and goals for the partner or the relationship. But what are the consequences of such sacrifices for relationship partners? In this work we provide a systematic investigation of the consequences of sacrifice in romantic relationships, both for the person who gives up their goals as well as for the recipient of these benefits. In 5 studies combining experience sampling and experimental methods, we examined whether performing and receiving sacrifices is linked to the experience of ambivalence, that is, mixed feelings toward a partner. In the last 3 studies, we also examined the specific positive and negative reactions associated with sacrifice. Results revealed that performing and receiving sacrifices are both linked to ambivalence toward a romantic partner. Recipients of sacrifices experienced higher negative mood, guilt, and feelings of indebtedness, but these were accompanied by higher positive mood, gratitude, and feeling appreciated by the partner. Sacrificers mostly experienced negative reactions, such as higher negative mood, frustration, and feelings of exploitation, but they also reported some positive reactions, such as feeling happy from benefitting their partner, proud of themselves for being a good partner, and had increased expectations that their partner would reciprocate the sacrifice in the future. In sum, this work provides the first comprehensive study of the emotional reactions that are triggered by sacrifice and shows that sacrifice is a double-edged sword with both positive and negative consequences. Implications for sacrifice and ambivalence are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... Further, a diary study among adults (Riediger and Freund 2004) indicated that goal interference, in terms of time, energy or financial constraints, predicted relative decline in positive affect as well as relative increase in negative affect. In line with such findings, Righetti et al. (2016) showed that encountering situations of goal conflict with one's partner resulted in higher levels of daily negative affect and stress and also impacted daily relationship satisfaction. ...
... Partners are sometimes pressured to divide their time and energy across different sets of valued activities and goals. It seems useful to address partners' experience of goal conflicts in clinical practice, as these may constitute a threat to partners' autonomous helping motivation and a source of relational conflicts (Gere and Schimmack 2013;Righetti et al. 2016). ...
... That is, also motivation-threatening factors in the couple may receive attention (e.g., daily quarrels), while motivation-enhancing factors in the help provider may also be studied (e.g., daily mindfulness). In addition, the mechanisms accounting for the contribution of gratitude and goal conflict (e.g., daily vitality or daily stress; Righetti et al. 2016) could also be targeted in future work. ...
Motivation to provide help might vary from day-to-day. Previous research showed that autonomously motivated help (i.e., helping because you enjoy/value this behavior), compared with controlled motivated help (i.e., helping because you feel you should do so), has beneficial effects for both the help provider and recipient. In a sample of chronic pain patients and partners (N = 64 dyads), this diary study examined whether (1) same- and prior day perceived gratitude (i.e., received appreciation for providing support) in partners and (2) same- and prior day goal conflicts in partners (i.e., amount of interference between helping one’s partner in pain and other goals) predicted partners’ helping motivation. Partners provided more autonomously motivated help on days that they perceived more gratitude from their partner and when they experienced less goal conflicts. Lagged analyses indicated that perceived gratitude (but not goal conflict) even predicted an increase in autonomous helping motivation the next day. Implications are discussed in the context of Self-Determination Theory.
... Previous studies suggest that partners' individual motives contribute not only to their own but also to each other's relational outcomes (e.g., Sanderson and Cantor, 2001;Hagemeyer et al., 2013a;Zygar et al., 2018). Couple members seem to report highest satisfaction and wellbeing if their individual motives match (Meyer and Pepper, 1977;Le and Agnew, 2001;Feeney, 2004;Riediger and Rauers, 2010;Arránz Becker, 2013;Czikmantori et al., 2018), whereas frustration and discord may arise if their motives interfere with each other (Drigotas and Rusbult, 1992;Righetti et al., 2016;Gere and Impett, 2017). ...
... Previous research corroborates that couple members' motive dispositions jointly shape their individual behavior and experiences in the relationship (Meyer and Pepper, 1977;Riediger and Rauers, 2010;Arránz Becker, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016;Gere and Impett, 2017;Czikmantori et al., 2018;Denzinger et al., 2018). Integrating theoretical tenets and empirical findings from motivation psychology, personality psychology, and interpersonal perception research, the MIC model provides a functional explanation for this interdependence. ...
This article presents an integrative conceptual model of motivational interdependence in couples, the MIC model. Based on theoretical tenets in motivation psychology, personality psychology, and research on interpersonal perception, the MIC model postulates that two partners' motive dispositions fundamentally interact in shaping their individual motivation and behavior. On a functional level, a partner's motivated behavior is conceptualized as an environmental cue that can contribute to an actor's motive expression and satisfaction. However, the partner's motivated behavior is considered to gain this motivational relevance only via the actor's subjective perception. Multilevel analyses of an extensive experience sampling study on partner-related communal motivation ( N = up to 60,803 surveys from 508 individuals nested in 258 couples) supported the MIC model. Participants, particularly those with strong communal motive dispositions, behaved more communally at moments when they perceived their partners to behave more communally. In addition, participants experienced momentary boosts in satisfaction when they behaved more communally and, at the same time, perceived their partners' behavior as similarly communal. Broader implications of the MIC model for research on romantic relationships are discussed.
... Oftentimes, people encounter conflicts of interests in their romantic relationship. From disagreeing on where to go to dinner to whose family to visit for the holidays, these conflicts can increase stress and reduce relationship satisfaction (Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). An efficient way to resolve these situations is to sacrifice one's preference to benefit one's partner and the relationship (Van Lange et al., 1997). ...
... Conflicts of interests can be costly for the partners and threatening for the security of the relationship (Impett et al., 2005;Righetti et al., 2016). As sacrificing one's own selfinterest is an efficient mean to solve such dilemmas (Van Lange et al., 1997), partners likely have developed norms on how to behave in these situations, giving rise to expectations about each other's sacrifices. ...
Romantic partners regularly encounter conflicts of interests and sacrifice their self-interest for their partner or the relationship. But is this relationship maintenance behavior always appreciated by the partner receiving the sacrifice? We examined whether expectations of sacrifices (i.e., beliefs that sacrifices are necessary, normal, and expected in relationships) predict people’s appreciation for their partner and, ultimately, their relationship satisfaction. Utilizing a daily experience procedure among romantic couples in the Netherlands ( N = 253 individuals), we found that when participants perceived a partner’s sacrifice, they experienced greater partner appreciation (i.e., gratitude and respect) and, in turn, felt more satisfied with their relationship when their sacrifice expectations were low, rather than high. In contrast, perceiving a partner’s sacrifice had no effect on appreciation and relationship satisfaction when the sacrifice recipient held strong sacrifice expectations. These findings illustrate the power that expectations have in influencing the receiver’s appreciation of their partner’s pro-social behavior.
... One study found that empathic concern was associated with increased responsive behavior in conflict interactions (Winczewski et al., 2016), indicating that affective empathy is associated with improved conflict regulation. Other research showed that partners with higher empathic concern experienced increased stress and worse mood in situations in which they perceived a divergence of interests with their partner (Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). However, this study did not differentiate between whether the partners discussed the divergence of interests or not, limiting its informative value with regard to conflicts. ...
... However, the positive effects of affective empathy were weaker and less consistent, when compared to equivalent effects of cognitive empathy (i.e., perspective taking; Van Lissa, Hawk, Branje, Koot, & Meeus, 2016;Van Lissa, Hawk, & Meeus, 2017). Nevertheless, these studies suggest that empathic concern may result in stronger affective reactions in conflict interactions (Righetti et al., 2016) and may support a better regulation of conflicts. ...
Interpersonal affect regulation has shown to be important for couple's relationship functioning and individual's well-being. However, less is known about the prerequisites for interpersonal affect regulation and the different contexts of interpersonal affect regulation have mainly been investigated independently of each other. The current thesis investigates empathy as a prerequisite for interpersonal affect regulation in the context of dyadic coping and conflicts and proposes a general framework for interpersonal affect regulation processes in order to integrate findings from different research avenues of interpersonal affect regulation. Results of the empirical studies supported the importance of affective and cognitive empathy within the process of dyadic coping (study 1), provided evidence that men's cognitive empathy helps couples to maintain high levels of dyadic coping in the long- run (study 2), and suggested that men's cognitive empathy is associated with better conflict regulation (study 3). Additionally, conflict regulation predicted concurrent relationship satisfaction but did not predict change in relationship satisfaction across 4 years (study 3). In sum, these results support the notion that empathy plays a crucial role in different contexts of interpersonal affect regulation. Extending research about the role of empathy in interpersonal affect regulation might be a promising pathway to improve clinical interventions. Interpersonelle Affektregulation ist ein wichtiger Prädiktor von Partnerschaftsqualität und individuellem Wohlbefinden. Darüber hingegen, welche Faktoren interpersonelle Affektregulation ermöglichen, ist weniger bekannt und die verschiedenen Kontexte von interpersoneller Affektregulation wurden meist unabhängig voneinander untersucht. Diese Arbeit untersucht die Rolle von Empathie in interpersoneller Affektregulation im Kontext von dyadischem Coping und Konflikten und postuliert ein Rahmenmodell für interpersonelle Affektregulationsprozesse, das die Integration von Erkenntnissen aus verschiedenen Forschungsbereichen ermöglichen soll. Die Resultate der empirischen Studien bestätigten die Wichtigkeit von affektiver und kognitiver Empathie für den Prozess des dyadischen Copings (Studie 1), zeigten, dass kognitive Empathie der Männer Paaren dabei hilft, längerfristig hohes dyadisches Coping aufrechtzuerhalten (Studie 2) und zeigten, dass kognitive Empathie der Männer mit besserer Konfliktregulation einhergeht (Studie 3). Weiter sagte Konfliktregulation momentane Beziehungszufriedenheit vorher, nicht aber den Verlauf von Beziehungszufriedenheit über 4 Jahre (Studie 3). Zusammenfassend deuten die Befunde darauf hin, dass Empathie eine zentrale Rolle für interpersonelle Affektregulation in unterschiedlichen Kontexten spielt. Weitere Forschung über die Rolle von Empathie in interpersoneller Affektregulation könnte vielversprechender sein um klinische Interventionen zu verbessern.
... One study found that empathic concern was associated with increased responsive behavior in conflict interactions (Winczewski et al., 2016), indicating that affective empathy is associated with improved conflict regulation. Other research showed that partners with higher empathic concern experienced increased stress and worse mood in situations in which they perceived a divergence of interests with their partner (Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). However, this study did not differentiate between whether the partners discussed the divergence of interests or not, limiting its informative value with regard to conflicts. ...
... However, the positive effects of affective empathy were weaker and less consistent, when compared to equivalent effects of cognitive empathy (i.e., perspective taking; Van Lissa, Hawk, Branje, Koot, & Meeus, 2016;Van Lissa, Hawk, & Meeus, 2017). Nevertheless, these studies suggest that empathic concern may result in stronger affective reactions in conflict interactions (Righetti et al., 2016) and may support a better regulation of conflicts. ...
Interpersonal affect regulation has shown to be important for couple's relationship functioning and individual's well-being. However, less is known about the prerequisites for interpersonal affect regulation and the different contexts of interpersonal affect regulation have mainly been investigated independently of each other. The current thesis investigates empathy as a prerequisite for interpersonal affect regulation in the context of dyadic coping and conflicts and proposes a general framework for interpersonal affect regulation processes in order to integrate findings from different research avenues of interpersonal affect regulation. Results of the empirical studies supported the importance of affective and cognitive empathy within the process of dyadic coping (study 1), provided evidence that men's cognitive empathy helps couples to maintain high levels of dyadic coping in the long-run (study 2), and suggested that men's cognitive empathy is associated with better conflict regulation (study 3). Additionally, conflict regulation predicted concurrent relationship satisfaction but did not predict change in relationship satisfaction across 4 years (study 3). In sum, these results support the notion that empathy plays a crucial role in different contexts of interpersonal affect regulation. Extending research about the role of empathy in interpersonal affect regulation might be a promising pathway to improve clinical interventions.
... On average, couples reported being involved for 2.8 years (SD ¼ 29 months), and 35% lived together. The data come from a larger project on romantic relationships (e.g., Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016; Visserman, Righetti, Kumashiro, & Van Lange, 2017), and with an anticipated small-to-medium effect size provided sufficient power to test our hypotheses (>.80). Originally, 130 couples participated in the study, but one couple brokeup before completing the daily diary, and three couples did not follow the instructions properly. ...
... Not necessarily so. There may be, at times, benefits to not seeing partners' sacrifices, as encountering conflicts of interests with one's partner can be stressful (Righetti et al., 2016). Also, sacrifices may "smooth" the interaction between partners, and at times, partners may make sacrifices that perhaps are better held privately (e.g., when they avert getting involved with an attractive alternative partner). ...
Although gratitude plays a central role in the quality of relationships, little is known about how gratitude emerges, such as in response to partners' sacrifices. Do people need to accurately see these acts to feel grateful? In two daily experience studies of romantic couples (total N = 426), we used a quasi-signal detection paradigm to examine the prevalence and consequences of (in)accurately "seeing" and missing partners' sacrifices. Findings consistently showed that sacrifices are equally likely to be missed as they are to be accurately detected, and about half of the time people "see" a sacrifice when the partner declares none. Importantly, "seeing" partners' sacrifices-accurately or inaccurately-is crucial for boosting gratitude. In contrast, missed sacrifices fail to elicit gratitude, and the lack of appreciation negatively colors the partner's satisfaction with the relationship when having sacrificed. Thus, these findings illustrate the power that perception holds in romantic couples' daily lives.
... Partners' goals, priorities, and preferences do not always align, and sometimes what is preferred by one partner is not preferred by the other (for an overview of couples daily divergence of interests, see Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). In these circumstances, if partners want to stay together, one of them needs to forego one's own preference to fulfill the other partner's needs or desires (e.g., Impett, Gable, & Peplau, 2005). ...
... p ¼ .919). 2. The data analyzed in the current article were part of a large research project on sacrifice that included several measures. Published papers utilizing this data set at the time of writing are ; Righetti, Balliet, Visserman, and Hofmann (2015); Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, and Van Lange (2016);and Visserman, Righetti, Kumashiro, and Van Lange (2016). None of these articles theoretically or empirically overlap with the idea tested in the present work. ...
Low self-esteem is often related to interpersonal difficulties. In fact, low self-esteem people fear rejection and tend to adopt self-protection goals. In the present work, we tested the idea that when low self-esteem individuals decide to sacrifice personal preferences for their relationship, they come to regret those actions, with further consequences for their well-being. We conducted a study with 130 couples, using experience sampling, daily diary, and a 1-year follow-up assessment. Results showed that low self-esteem is related to greater regret of past sacrifices, which, in turn, affects negative mood, stress, and life satisfaction. Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed that low self-esteem individuals feel less supported by the partner after they sacrifice, which helps explaining why they come to regret their sacrifices.
... The following incomplete list from a literature search shows the diverse range of topics studied via situation sampling (in alphabetical order) 6 : 6 Due to the focus on sampling situations as close as possible to the actual event as it unfolds, this selective list excludes daily diary and day reconstruction approaches which represent alternative methods for situation samplingSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE 20Aggression(DeWall et al., 2012;Lim et al., 2018), cooperation and interdependence, discrimination(Cook et al., 2011;English et al., 2020;Fazeli et al., 2017;Thoroughgood et al., 2020), empathy(Depow et al., 2021;Kerem et al., 2001), emotion regulation(Benson et al., 2019;Brockman et al., 2017;D. Y. Liu et al., 2021), envy(Lange et al., 2018), food consumption(Bauer et al., 2022;Hofmann, Adriaanse, et al., 2014;McKee et al., 2014;Richard et al., 2017), gender differences(Mehl et al., 2007), goal pursuitMead et al., 2016), gossip and reputation (DoresCruz et al., 2021), habitual behavior(Heintzelman & King, 2019;Williamson & Wilkowski, 2022), happiness and meaning(Choi et al., 2017), mind-wandering and mindfulness(Brown & Ryan, 2003;Friese & Hofmann, 2016;Kane et al., 2007;Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010), morality(Hofmann et al., 2018;Hofmann, Wisneski, et al., 2014;Waytz & Hofmann, 2020), power(Smith & Hofmann, 2016), prosocial helping(Saulin et al., 2019), prospection(Baumeister et al., 2020), relationship processes such as conflict and sacrifice(Carswell et al., 2021;Peetz et al., 2021;Righetti et al., 2015;Righetti et al., 2016;Righetti et al., 2020), self-control(Hofmann, Baumeister, Förster, & Vohs, 2012;Milyavskaya et al., 2015;Williamson & Wilkowski, 2020;Wolff et al., 2021), self-licensing of health behavior(Dohle & Hofmann, 2019), social comparison(Diel et al., 2021;Wheeler & Miyake, 1992), quantity and quality of social interactions(Compernolle et al., 2021;S. S. Liu et al., 2021, for a cross-cultural comparison;Ren et al., 2022;Sun et al., 2020), (social) media use ...
Social psychology is strongly grounded in the experimental method for rigid theory testing. At the same time, our discipline strives to generalize to and fully understand the social–psychological phenomena that manifest in people’s everyday environments (“the field”). Whereas the former requires optimizing internal validity, the latter requires high external validity, particularly ecological validity (representativeness of situations). To make the most of our discipline, we need not only strong experimentation, but also powerful approaches to capture and scrutinize our quintessential element, the psychological situation in the field. Here, we present one such field research approach, called SIP, designed to complement the strengths of experimental social psychology. It consists of three core features: the intensive sampling of Situations in people’s everyday ecologies, an Integrative approach to unite multiple relevant key constructs and levels of analysis (e.g., person and situation) under one working framework, and a Phenomenon-driven, open orientation towards the topic at hand. We illustrate the opportunities (and challenges) provided by the SIP approach with several key insights derived from a program of research applying the approach to various areas such as self-control, morality, and trust. These opportunities include (a) the value of description, (b) the benefits of sampling situations in a continuous and multi-dimensional manner, (c) a better understanding of the temporal dynamics of social–psychological processes, (d) the potential to study various person–environment relations (such as situation selection effects), and (e) new ways of mapping the correspondence between experimental paradigms and everyday environments. These features of SIP can improve theory building in social psychology by creating a stronger symbiosis between the lab and the field.
... , emotion regulation(Benson et al., 2019; Brockman et al., 2017;D. Y. Liu et al., 2021), envy(Lange et al., 2018), food consumption(Bauer et al., 2022;Hofmann, Adriaanse, et al., 2014;McKee et al., 2014;Richard et al., 2017), gender differences(Mehl et al., 2007), goal pursuitMead et al., 2016), gossip and reputation(Dores Cruz et al., 2021), habitual behavior(Heintzelman & King, 2019;Williamson & Wilkowski, 2022), happiness and meaning(Choi et al., 2017), mind-wandering and mindfulness(Brown & Ryan, 2003;Friese & Hofmann, 2016;Kane et al., 2007;Killingsworth & Gilbert, 2010), morality(Hofmann et al., 2018;Hofmann, Wisneski, et al., 2014;Waytz & Hofmann, 2020), power(Smith & Hofmann, 2016), prosocial helping(Saulin et al., 2019), prospection(Baumeister et al., 2020), relationship processes such as conflict and sacrifice(Carswell et al., 2021;Peetz et al., 2021;Righetti et al., 2015;Righetti et al., 2016;Righetti et al., 2020), self-control(Hofmann, Baumeister, Förster, & Vohs, 2012;Milyavskaya et al., 2015;Williamson & Wilkowski, 2020; Wolff et al., 2021), self-licensing of health behavior (Dohle & Hofmann, 2019), social comparison (Diel et al., 2021; Wheeler & Miyake, 1992), quantity and quality of social interactions (Compernolle et al., 2021; S. S. Liu et al., 2021, for a cross-cultural comparison; ...
Social psychology is strongly grounded in the experimental method for rigid theory testing. At the same time, our discipline strives to generalize to and fully understand the social-psychological phenomena that manifest in people’s everyday environments (“the field”). Whereas the former requires optimizing internal validity, the latter requires high external validity, particularly ecological validity (representativeness of situations). To make the most of our discipline, we need not only strong experimentation, but also powerful approaches to capture and scrutinize our quintessential element, the psychological situation in the field. Here, we present one such field research approach, called SIP, designed to complement the strengths of experimental social psychology. It consists of three core features: the intensive sampling of Situations in people’s everyday ecologies, an Integrative approach to unite multiple relevant key constructs and levels of analysis (e.g., person and situation) under one working framework, and a Phenomenon-driven, open orientation towards the topic at hand. We illustrate the opportunities (and challenges) provided by the SIP approach with several key insights derived from a program of research applying the approach to various areas such as self-control, morality, and trust. These opportunities include (a) the value of description, (b) the benefits of sampling situations in a continuous and multi-dimensional manner, (c) a better understanding of the temporal dynamics of social-psychological processes, (d) the potential to study various person-environment relations (such as situation selection effects), and (e) new ways of mapping the correspondence between experimental paradigms and everyday environments. These features of SIP can improve theory building in social psychology by creating a stronger symbiosis between the lab and the field.
... Every 2 h, partners were asked to report their mood, their relationship satisfaction, and whether they encountered a divergence of interests. Results showed that when partners encountered a situation of divergence of interests, they experienced a greater negative mood, more stress, and lower relationship satisfaction than when such a situation did not occur (Righetti et al., 2016). Consistently, previous research has also shown that people mostly enjoy activities that fulfill both partners' goals rather than activities that fulfill only one partner's goal (Gere et al., 2011). ...
In the past 20 years, greater attention has been devoted to the study of self‐regulation in an interpersonal context. This review summarize this work and presents findings on how self‐regulation processes influence close relationship outcomes. The review is organized around the four ingredients of self‐regulation (i.e., standards, monitoring, self‐regulatory capacity, and motivation). For each ingredient, we discuss their influence on relationship processes and dynamics. In the standards section, we discuss the literature on approach/avoidance, promotion/prevention, goal conflicts between partners, and interpersonal goal support. In the monitoring section, we describe how partners' monitoring of each other's goal progress affects relationships. We also highlight that research on this topic is scant. In the self‐regulatory capacity section, we discuss findings on how self‐regulatory capacity is associated with relationship maintenance behaviors. In the motivation section, we review the literature on commitment and its impact on relationship dynamics. Finally, for each ingredient, we address an important avenue for future research.
... These non-harmonious goals can lead to conflict and withholding of support when both partners' goals cannot be achieved simultaneously or when one partner's goals may trigger a relationship threat. Research shows that goal conflict has been associated with lower personal well-being, relationship quality and commitment (Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Gere et al., 2011;Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Righetti et al., 2016;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003), and negatively associated with different stages of the positive support process in a relationship: openness to receiving support from a partner (Righetti et al., 2014), perceived partner support (Vowels & Carnelley, 2021), and providing support toward a partner's goals (Feeney et al., 2013(Feeney et al., , 2017Hui et al., 2014). This may have serious implications for goal progress and achievement, as people are also less likely to make progress toward goals that are non-harmonious for their relationships (Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Gere et al., 2011;Vowels et al., 2022). ...
Romantic partners often support each other to progress toward goals. However, at times partners’ goals are not in harmony and conflict with partner or relationship needs, leading to negative consequences for couple members. The present study examined whether non-harmonious opportunities were associated with support provider’s and recipient’s behavior, perceived partner support, and goal outcomes. We further examined whether these effects were moderated by attachment styles. Findings from two experimental ( n 1 = 296, n 2 = 117) and one dyadic daily diary ( n 3 = 267) showed how having non-harmonious goals lead to problematic goal pursuit. Partners are less likely to behave positively toward the support provider, provide partner support, view their partners as supportive, and report less commitment to partners, and make less goal progress when goal non-harmony is present. Importantly, we did not find moderation effects of attachment styles for these processes. The findings highlight the importance of managing goal non-harmony in couples.
... People's empathy or ways to react to others' emotions may make a difference in one's preference and motivation for solitude. When faced with negative emotions from others, people with higher emotion contagion or higher personal distress may experience higher stress (Buffone et al., 2017), higher negative mood (Righetti et al., 2016), and elevated chronic inflammation (Manczak et al., 2016). The negative emotional and physical feedback is likely to contribute to a higher preference for being alone over being with others, especially when the interactions with others usually relate to stressful situations or negative emotions (Birditt et al., 2019). ...
The consequences of solitude depend on one’s preference and motivations for solitude, some of which correlate with high psychological risks (e.g., loneliness, depression) with others relating to low risk or benefits. When life is suffused with stress, people are used to escaping and seeking solitude time for restoration, which is especially true for established adults who are burdened with the heaviest care responsibilities and work stress. However, little is known about the development of preference and motivations for solitude in established adulthood. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the level of preference and motivations for solitude and their potential antecedents and consequences in established (aged 30–45) adulthood as compared to emerging (aged 18–29) and midlife adulthood (aged 46–64). We recruited 465 young to middle-aged adults from MTurk and an undergraduate class (Fall 2019). Preference and motivations for solitude were measured with the Preference for Solitude Scale and the Motivation for Solitude Scale-Short Form. Well-being and social measures were included as potential consequences and sociodemographic, psychological, and physical measures as potential antecedents. Results showed that both preference for solitude and controlled motivation peaked in established adulthood. Same as adjacent adulthood phases, in established adulthood (a) preference for solitude related to mildly compromised well-being, (b) controlled motivation was robustly associated with worse well-being, and (c) self-determined motivation was consistently associated with better well-being. Antecedences for preference and motivations for solitude showed distinctiveness for each adulthood phase. Future interventions on well-being should focus on controlled motivation for solitude and established adults.
... Regarding pain, however, there are times in which relationships also engender considerable costs. Marriage is a particularly notable example, as increased commitment necessitates that spouses endure conflicts (Braiker & Kelley, 1979), divergent interests (Righetti et al., 2016), rejections (Murray et al., 2013), and thwarted autonomy needs (Deci & Ryan, 2014), all of which can cause negative affect and impair well-being over time (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2008;Sbarra et al., 2011). What is important to realize with respect to these costs is that people are strongly motivated to maintain positive views of their partner (Murray et al., 1996) and thus frequently engage in motivated reasoning to minimize the extent to which their partner is a stable source of any negative affect (see Fletcher & Kerr, 2010;Gagné & Lydon, 2004;Murray, 1999). ...
Implicit ambivalence involves holding strong positive and negative implicit evaluations toward the same object. This state is common in close relationships because even the most satisfying partnerships involve in conflicts and other frustrating experiences that can be explained away through effortful motivated reasoning yet remain in memory as mental representations involving the partner. In fact, it appears normative for implicit measures of partner attitudes to reveal implicit ambivalence. Despite being common, however, little is known about the consequences of implicit ambivalence. The present longitudinal investigation provides initial evidence that implicit ambivalence can motivate relationship improvements. Across two studies of newlywed couples ( N = 448 individuals), multilevel dyadic modeling revealed that higher implicit ambivalence was associated with higher motivation to make efforts to improve current marital problems, which predicted reduced marital-problems severity reported by the partner and increased marital satisfaction reported by both spouses 4 months later.
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). In fact, several studies have shown goal conflict to be negatively associated with relationship quality as well as personal well-being (Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Gere et al., 2011;Righetti et al., 2016). Another study has shown that when people find it difficult to sacrifice or make a change for their partner or the relationship, they feel less satisfied in the relationship (Ruppel & Curran, 2012). ...
When romantic partners’ personal goals conflict, this can negatively affect personal goal outcomes, such as progress. In a concurrent mixed methods study, we investigated whether goal conflict and negation of goal conflict were associated with goal outcomes (progress, confidence, motivation) and what strategies partners used during the COVID-19 pandemic to negotiate goal conflict. Survey participants ( n = 200) completed a daily diary for a week and weekly longitudinal reports for a month and interview participants ( n = 48) attended a semi-structured interview. Results showed that higher goal conflict was associated with lower goal outcomes, and successful negotiation of goal conflict was associated with better goal outcomes. Qualitative analyses identified three goal conflict negotiation strategies (compromise, integration, concession). Conversations focused on both practical and emotional needs and included respectful communication and space from conflict (timeout or avoidance). The mixed methods results suggest that goal conflict was low during the pandemic and participants were often able to negotiate goal conflict resulting in better goal outcomes.
... Relationship conflicts have the potential to elicit strong emotional responses (Righetti et al., 2016), and in those situations, people can decide whether to express or suppress their emotions to their romantic partner (Gross & John, 2002). While the potential (inter)personal consequences of emotional inhibition are well known (e.g., , surprisingly, little is known about the conditions that promote the expression or suppression of emotions during romantic conflicts. ...
Prior research indicated that lack of power leads to emotional suppression and low emotional expression during conflicts among strangers. However, little is known about how power affects emotional inhibition in close relationships, where partners are highly interdependent, and achieving one's goals greatly depends on their partner's cooperation. In three studies among romantic couples (total N = 994), we examined whether (a) power is related to emotional inhibition during conflicts, (b) perceived partner responsiveness moderates this effect and, (c) which conflict-resolution responses are subsequently enacted. Findings consistently showed that powerless individuals were more likely to inhibit their emotions and consequently to use passive responses during conflicts. However, this only occurred when they perceived lack of responsiveness from their partner. If the partner was perceived as responsive (i.e., showed care, validation, and understanding), power was not related to emotional inhibition and passive resolutions. The importance of partner's responses in relation to power asymmetry is discussed.
... Likewise, studies focusing on goal coordination in couples have found that engaging in activities that facilitate both partners' goals is linked to an improved well-being (Gere, Schimmack, Pinkus, & Lockwood, 2011). In contrast, goal conflict in couples reduces the motivation to help one's partner (Kindt, Vansteenkiste, Cano, & Goubert, 2017) and relates to poorer well-being and relationship quality (Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). Moreover, Columbus, Molho, Righetti, and Balliet (2020) allude to goal conflict attenuating the positive effects of relationship interdependence on activities that benefit the partner's goal pursuit. ...
Despite the importance of career goals for career self-management, we know little about the self-regulatory processes underlying career goal attainment. In this study, we draw on transactive goal dynamics theory to investigate whether and how romantic relationships impact career goal attainment. For testing our research model, we focused on the career goal of being successful in a political election, and gathered survey and objective data from politicians at three measurement points (N = 108). As hypothesized, our path analysis showed that relationship closeness facilitated career goal attainment through shared career goals and an increase in the available shared pool of resources. We further explored the moderating role of goal coordination in this process, and found that a high goal conflict undermined the indirect effect of relationship closeness on career goal attainment whereas goal facilitation had no moderating effect. Finally, we found no support for the hypothesized effect of relationship duration on shared career goals and career goal attainment. Our findings indicate that romantic relationships can facilitate career goal attainment and that partners' goal coordination is a relevant boundary condition of this process. Our study thus highlights the value of integrating career research and work-home research. Practically, our results imply that individuals should gain their partner's support for their career goals, and that supervisors can facilitate employees' career development by enabling them to capitalize on home-domain resources such as their romantic relationship. According to our findings, career counselors can assist their clients' career self-management by preventing goal conflicts with their partner.
... Perceiving close others as hindering personal goals has been linked to reduced closeness to these close others (Converse & Fishbach, 2012;Fitzsimons & Fishbach, 2010), and partners who serve fewer (rather than more) goals are evaluated as less interpersonally close (Orehek, Forest, & Wingrove, 2018). Indeed, on days when people encounter a divergence of interests with one's partner, as compared with days when they do not, they experienced higher negative mood and stress and, consequently, lower relationship satisfaction (Righetti et al., 2016). An important facet of studying the effects of making partner-satisfying (vs. ...
Sometimes, individuals must choose between acting in a way that satisfies their own desire or acting in a way that satisfies their partner's desire. What are the consequences of choosing one over the other for individuals' well‐being and relationship? Using experience sampling data (934 reports by 106 participants) that assessed daily decision conflicts in relationships, we examined consequences of partner‐satisfying decisions. A higher proportion of partner‐satisfying decisions predicted more perceived needs fulfillment and marginally higher perceived relationship quality over the course of a week. Additionally, immediately after the partner‐satisfying decision, participants reported feeling closer to their partner, and reported more positive and less negative affect, even when controlling for the quality of the relationship.
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). Goal conflict is indeed negatively associated with relational and personal well-being (Gere et al., 2011;Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016). Only one study has examined whether goal conflict is associated with less support providing and found that more (vs. ...
Due to the pandemic, people have been stuck indoors with their partners for months. Instead of being able to rely on multiple sources of support, many couples have to rely on each other more. We investigated whether goal conflict, successful negotiation of the conflict, and individual differences in attachment styles were associated with perceived partner support to understand factors that may enable or hinder goal pursuit during the pandemic. Participants (n = 200) completed a daily diary for a week and weekly longitudinal reports for five weeks. Results showed that higher goal conflict predicted perception of less relational catalyst (RC) support and more anti-RC support from partner, whereas more successful negotiation of goal conflict predicted higher RC support and lower anti-RC support. Attachment avoidance was directly associated with less support whereas attachment anxiety moderated the relationship between goal conflict and support. Implications for partner support during the pandemic are discussed.
... Another feature of interpersonal situations that seems to play an important role in reducing attachment insecurity is having corresponding interests. Encountering situations of conflict of interests with one's partner can be highly distressing for the individual and the relationship [41] and may be likely to result in conflicts [42]. In these situations, people are likely to feel vulnerable because good outcomes for both partners are difficult to achieve [33]. ...
This work adopts an Interdependence Theory framework to investigate how the features of interdependent situations that couples face in their daily life (i.e., situations in which partners influence each other’s outcomes) shape attachment security toward their current partners. An experience sampling study examined attachment tendencies and features of interdependent situations that people experience with their partner in daily life to predict satisfaction and trust in their relationship, and changes in attachment avoidance and anxiety toward their partner over time. Results revealed that encountering situations with corresponding outcomes (i.e., situations in which both partners have the same preferences) and with information certainty (i.e., situations in which there is clear knowledge of each partner’s preferences) assuage people’s insecurity. On the contrary, situations of mutual current and future interdependence (i.e., situations in which each person’s current or future outcomes are dependent on their partner’s behavior) undermined security for anxiously attached individuals. Power (i.e., the asymmetry in partners’ dependence) was not related to attachment security. This work underscores the importance of studying the role of the situations that partners experience in their daily life and the way they are related to relationship feelings and cognitions.
... Participants completed a survey every evening that included a question asking if their needs, interests, or desires conflicted with their partner's that day. If they indicated there was a conflict, they were asked to describe what it was about and how they handled the situation (adapted from Righetti et al., 2016). They were given five options: "I sacrificed what I wanted," "My partner sacrificed what they wanted," "We compromised," "At least one of us had the opportunity to sacrifice, but neither of us did," and "There was no opportunity to sacrifice, and we each did our own thing." ...
Despite growing evidence that showing gratitude plays a powerful role in building social connections, little is known about how to best express gratitude to maximize its relational benefits. In this research, we examined how two key ways of expressing gratitude-conveying that the benefactor's kind action met one's needs (responsiveness-highlighting) and acknowledging how costly the action was (cost-highlighting)-impact benefactors' reactions to the gratitude and feelings about their relationship. Using observer ratings of gratitude expressions during couples' live interactions (N = 111 couples), and bene-factors' self-reports across a 14-day experience sampling study (N = 463 daily reports), we found that responsiveness-highlighting was associated with benefactors' positive feelings about the gratitude expression and the relationship. In contrast, cost-highlighting had no such effect. These findings suggest that expressing gratitude in a way that highlights how responsive benefactors were may be critical to reaping the relational benefits of gratitude and have practical implications for improving couples' well-being.
... Repeated exposure to goal conflict is likely to be harmful for relationships because it continuously tests partners' commitment toward each other (Kelley & Thibaut, 1978;Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003). Goal conflict is indeed negatively associated with relational and personal well-being (Gere et al., 2011;Gere & Impett, 2018;Gere & Schimmack, 2013;Righetti et al., 2016). Only one study has examined whether goal conflict is associated with less support providing and found that more (vs. ...
Due to the pandemic, people have been stuck indoors with their partners for months. Instead of being able to rely on multiple sources of support, many couples have to rely on each other more. We investigated whether goal conflict, successful negotiation of the conflict, and individual differences in attachment styles were associated with partner support to understand factors that may enable or hinder goal pursuit during the pandemic. Participants (n=200) completed a daily diary for a week and weekly longitudinal reports for five weeks. Results showed that higher goal conflict was associated with perception of less relational catalyst (RC) support and more anti-RC support from partner, whereas more successful negotiation of goal conflict was associated with higher RC support and lower anti-RC support. Negotiation of goal conflict also partially mediated the association between goal conflict and support. Attachment avoidance was directly associated with less support whereas attachment anxiety moderated the relationship between goal conflict and support. Implications for partner support during the pandemic are discussed.
... Thus, for new mothers, mentalizing for one's partner may come at a cost. Similar to the cost of empathy (Manczak et al., 2016;Righetti et al., 2016), more often carried by women (Mestre et al., 2009), being sensitive to the feelings of others opens people up to experiencing others' distress . Perhaps mothers who are more aware of their partners' mental states are also more cognizant of the challenges of this transition to parenthood and thus perceive their relationships or their own plight more accurately. ...
Reflective functioning (RF) is a construct that has gained tremendous traction in the developmental psychology literature, demonstrating robust associations with parent–child attachment and interactional quality. Although theorists argue that RF should have meaningful links with relationship quality across the life span, to date this construct has not been applied to the study of adult romantic partnerships. The goal of the present investigation is to introduce the construct of Partner RF, the capacity to reflect on the thoughts and feelings of one’s partner and to consider their roles in guiding behavior in one’s partner and oneself. Next, we explore the degree to which Partner RF is associated with a range of theoretically related constructs—one’s partner’s Partner RF, as well as one’s own parental RF, attachment, relationship satisfaction, and coparenting—in first-time parents. In a longitudinal study of N = 107 primiparous couples, we found positive associations between mothers’ and fathers’ Partner RF and between mother’s Partner RF and their parental RF. Partner RF is higher among women who report lower prenatal attachment avoidance and demonstrate more prenatal positive communication with their partners. Counterintuitively, higher levels of maternal Partner RF predict greater decreases in couple and coparenting satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Partner RF may be an important construct to measure and understand in terms of its role in couple relationship functioning and parental well-being.
... At the same time, empathy might also increase burden, especially at times of crisis or conflict, when identifying with another person's pain might lead to one's own experience of pain (e.g., Fonagy, 2018;Righetti et al., 2016;Van Lissa et al., 2017). Indeed, research has shown that parental empathy has both positive and negative psychological and physiological implications (Goubert, Vervoort, Sullivan, Verhoeven & Crombez, 2008;Manczak et al., 2016). ...
Empathy is considered a positive aspect of caregiving, although in certain circumstances, being empathic might increase the burden of caregivers. The current study assessed the associations between empathy, parental efficacy, and family burden among parents of children who were hospitalized in a psychiatric unit. Specifically, we examined whether the association between empathy and family burden was moderated by the parents’ sense of self‐efficacy. Seventy parents of children with psychiatric disorders, hospitalized in an inpatient psychiatric unit, filled out questionnaires of empathy, parental efficacy, and family burden. Results supported a moderating role of parental efficacy between empathy and family burden (interaction effect: β = −1.72, p = .0406). Specifically, empathy was positively related to family burden among parents with low self‐efficacy (conditional effect = 0.70, p = .032) and negatively related to family burden among parents with high self‐efficacy (conditional effect = −0.39, p = N.S). Implications for practice include the importance of self‐efficacy and address the possible negative implications of empathy among parents of children treated in a psychiatric hospital.
... Realistically, relationships exist by virtue of some sacrifice. Couples are regularly confronted with situations in which partners' preferences diverge (Righetti et al. 2016), and these situations may call for one of the partners (or both) to sacrifice their own self-interests and invest in the relationship instead ( Van Lange et al. 1997). ...
... Then, the Generic HTML Form Processor can store the data submitted through it into a database for later processing. In the course of time, more general purpose software applications have also become prominent and common for producing surveys and storing the participants' responses, as constituent components of homebrew AA systems, such as Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA) and Google Forms (Google, Mountain View, CA, USA), which are often used in conjunction with systems that help manage the complexity of administering notifications to study participants, like SurveySignal (Hofmann et al., 2015) (e.g., Righetti et al., 2016). ...
Ambulatory assessment (AA) is a research method that aims to collect longitudinal biopsychosocial data in groups of individuals. AA studies are commonly conducted via mobile devices such as smartphones. Researchers tend to communicate their AA protocols to the community in natural language by describing step-by-step procedures operating on a set of materials. However, natural language requires effort to transcribe onto and from the software systems used for data collection, and may be ambiguous, thereby making it harder to reproduce a study. Though AA protocols may also be written as code in a programming language, most programming languages are not easily read by most researchers. Thus, the quality of scientific discourse on AA stands to gain from protocol descriptions that are easy to read, yet remain formal and readily executable by computers. This paper makes the case for using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to achieve this. While HTML can suitably describe AA materials, it cannot describe AA procedures. To resolve this, and taking away lessons from previous efforts with protocol implementations in a system called TEMPEST, we offer a set of custom HTML5 elements that help treat HTML documents as executable programs that can both render AA materials, and effect AA procedures on computational platforms.
... Two couples and 1 participant failed to follow instructions at intake. Their data were excluded from all analyses of this data set (e.g., Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016; for an exhaustive overview of past publications using this data set, see the Supplemental Material available online). The remaining sample included 255 participants whose age ranged from 18 to 43 years (M = 23.31, ...
Growing evidence suggests that the seeds of relationship decay can be detected via implicit partner evaluations even when explicit evaluations fail to do so. However, little is known about the concrete daily relational processes that explain why these gut feelings are such important determinants of relationships’ long-term outcomes. The present integrative multimethod research yielded a novel finding: that participants with more positive implicit partner evaluations exhibited more constructive nonverbal (but not verbal) behavior toward their partner in a videotaped dyadic interaction. In turn, this behavior was associated with greater satisfaction with the conversation and with the relationship in the following 8-day diary portion of the study. These findings represent a significant step forward in understanding the crucial role of automatic processes in romantic relationships. Together, they provide novel evidence that relationship success appears to be highly dependent on how people spontaneously behave in their relationship, which may be ultimately rooted in their implicit partner evaluations.
... Furthermore, high-empathy adults tend to experience greater guilt in the aftermath of conflicts (Leith & Baumeister, 1998). Another recent study found that, when highly empathic adults experienced "goal conflict" (divergence of interests) with their romantic partners, they experienced greater negative mood and stress than lower-empathy individuals (Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016). It remains to be examined, however, whether highempathy adolescents are also susceptible to greater emotion dysregulation in relation to conflict with parents. ...
Empathy plays a key role in maintaining close relationships and promoting pro-social conflict resolution. However, research has not addressed the potential emotional cost of adolescents’ high empathy, particularly when relationships are characterized by more frequent conflict. The present six-year longitudinal study (N = 467) investigated whether conflict with parents predicted emotion dysregulation more strongly for high-empathy adolescents than for lower-empathy adolescents. Emotion dysregulation was operationalized at both the experiential level, using mood diary data collected for three weeks each year, and at the dispositional level, using annual self-report measures. In line with predictions, we found that more frequent adolescent-parent conflict predicted greater day-to-day mood variability and dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation for high-empathy adolescents, but not for average- and low-empathy adolescents. Mood variability and difficulties in emotion regulation, in turn, also predicted increased conflict with parents. These links were not moderated by empathy. Moreover, our research allowed for a novel investigation of the interplay between experiential and dispositional emotion dysregulation. Day-to-day mood variability predicted increasing dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation over time, which suggests that experiential dysregulation becomes consolidated into dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that, for high-empathy adolescents, conflict was a driver of this dysregulation consolidation process. Finally, emotion dysregulation played a role in over-time conflict maintenance for high-empathy adolescents. This suggests that, through emotion dysregulation, high empathy may paradoxically also contribute to maintaining negative adolescent-parent interactions. Our research indicates that high empathy comes at a cost when adolescent-parent relationships are characterized by greater negativity.
... In supplemental analyses, we examined relations among the study variables and relationship-related stress. Relationship stress was assessed in the daily surveys with the item "Today, my partner/relationship stressed me out," (adapted from Righetti et al., 2016, modified to assess stress specific to the relationship/partner; scaling: 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Participants' average daily relationship stress scores were examined in the person level of the model (M = 2.07, SD = 1.84, ...
This study investigated whether positive and negative romantic partner social control attempts (persuasion and pressure, respectively) were related to approach-avoidance motives and exercise among young adults (N = 98), using daily reports. Daily persuasion was linked to higher daily approach motives. At the person level, persuasion was associated with higher approach and avoidance motives in addition to more frequent, longer exercise. Pressure was associated with higher daily relationship stress, which was associated with higher daily avoidance motives. At the person level, pressure was related to less frequent, shorter exercise. Thus, romantic partners’ social control use correlates with exercise motives and behavior.
... On average, couples were involved in their current romantic relationship for 2.8 years (SD ϭ 29 months, range ϭ 4 months to 17 years), and 35% lived together. The data come from a larger project on romantic relationships (see Righetti, Balliet, Visserman, & Hofmann, 2015;Righetti, Gere, Hofmann, Visserman, & Van Lange, 2016;Righetti & Visserman, in press;Visserman, Righetti, Kumashiro, & Van Lange, 2017). Originally, 130 couples participated in the study, but one couple broke up before completing the diary portion of the study, and five individuals did not follow the instructions properly. ...
Gratitude is robustly linked to many positive outcomes for individuals and relationships (e.g., greater life and relationship satisfaction). However, little is known about how romantic partners come to feel grateful for each other’s pro-relational acts, such as when a partner makes a sacrifice. The present research examines how perceptions of partner sacrifice motives evoke gratitude. We distinguish between partner, relationship, and self-focused motives, and how they are guided by approach or avoidance orientations. We expected that perceiving a partner to sacrifice for partner-focused approach motives (i.e., to promote the partner’s well-being) should evoke gratitude, as this type of motive may signal a genuine departure from self-interest. Moreover, we expected these motives to provoke greater perceptions of partner responsiveness, which should partially explain why they elicit gratitude. In contrast, perceiving a partner to sacrifice for relationship-focused motives (e.g., to promote the well-being of the relationship), or self-focused motives (e.g., to feel good about oneself), should not evoke gratitude—irrespective of an approach or avoidance orientation—as these motives may, to some extent, be perceived as tainted by self-interest. Two studies of romantic couples (N = 413), using diary methods (Studies 1 and 2) and having couples converse about a major sacrifice in the laboratory (Study 2), consistently showed that perceived partner-focused approach motives promote gratitude and that this association is partly mediated by perceived partner responsiveness. In contrast, relationship and self-focused motives (approach and avoidance oriented) were not associated with gratitude. Implications regarding perceiving and displaying sacrifice motives are discussed.
Why do people fall in love? Does passion fade with time? What makes for a happy, healthy relationship? This introduction to relationship science follows the lifecycle of a relationship – from attraction and initiation, to the hard work of relationship maintenance, to dissolution and ways to strengthen a relationship. Designed for advanced undergraduates studying psychology, communication or family studies, this textbook presents a fresh, diversity-infused approach to relationship science. It includes real-world examples and critical-thinking questions, callout boxes that challenge students to make connections, and researcher interviews that showcase the many career paths of relationship scientists. Article Spotlights reveal cutting-edge methods, while Diversity and Inclusion boxes celebrate the variety found in human love and connection. Throughout the book, students see the application of theory and come to recognize universal themes in relationships as well as the nuances of many findings. Instructors can access lecture slides, an instructor manual, and test banks.
Feeling loved (loved, cared for, accepted, valued, understood) is inherently dyadic, yet most prior theoretical perspectives and investigations have focused on how actors feeling (un)loved shapes actors' outcomes. Adopting a dyadic perspective, the present research tested whether the established links between actors feeling unloved and destructive (critical, hostile) behavior depended on partners' feelings of being loved. Does feeling loved need to be mutual to reduce destructive behavior, or can partners feeling loved compensate for actors feeling unloved? In five dyadic observational studies, couples were recorded discussing conflicts, diverging preferences or relationship strengths, or interacting with their child (total N = 842 couples; 1,965 interactions). Participants reported how much they felt loved during each interaction and independent coders rated how much each person exhibited destructive behavior. Significant Actors' × Partners' Felt-Loved interactions revealed a strong-link/mutual felt-unloved pattern: partners' high felt-loved buffered the damaging effect of actors' low felt-loved on destructive behavior, resulting in actors' destructive behavior mostly occurring when both actors' and partners' felt-loved was low. This dyadic pattern also emerged in three supplemental daily sampling studies. Providing directional support for the strong-link/mutual felt-unloved pattern, in Studies 4 and 5 involving two or more sequential interactions, Actors' × Partners' Felt-Loved in one interaction predicted actors' destructive behavior within couples' subsequent conflict interactions. The results illustrate the dyadic nature of feeling loved: Partners feeling loved can protect against actors feeling unloved in challenging interactions. Assessing Actor × Partner effects should be equally valuable for advancing understanding of other fundamentally dyadic relationship processes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
We conducted a systematic review of research on relational sacrifices in romantic relationships from 2002 to 2021 [N = 115 studies] to answer three questions: Q1: Whose voices and vantage points are represented in the research?; Q2: What types of questions are valued?; Q3: What are the reflections and connections about relational sacrifices that were learned during the review? To address Q1, we coded sample demographics of study participants on geographical location, race/ethnicity, education/income/SES, gender (i.e., gender differences explored and beyond gender binaries), sexual orientation, age, and disability, using a coding system of 1 (exclusion/absence) to 5 (focus on context‐relevant experiences for underrepresented samples). Results for Q1 showed that the most frequent codes were 1 (exclusion/absence) for information about the samples' disability status, education/income/SES, and both codes for gender (i.e., gender differences explored and beyond gender binaries); when demographic information was reported, the most frequent codes were 2 (compensatory addition) for age, sexual orientation, geographical location, and race/ethnicity. To address Q2, we coded for aspects of the study designs and conceptual dimensions of sacrifice. Results for Q2 showed that a majority of the studies in our review used quantitative and close‐ended measures emphasizing behavioral frequency of sacrifice. For Q3, we include our own reflections and connections about relational sacrifices, questioning research methods, and challenging assumptions drawn from existing research to move toward a more inclusive science.
Within relationship research, a great deal of attention is given to emphasizing the interpersonal context related to daily stress and its association with relationship well-being. However, apart from the interpersonal context in which stress may occur, one must consider individual, sociocultural, and systemic factors associated with these daily experiences. Taking an intersectional focus, this systematic review aimed to critically examine the extant research on daily stress and romantic relationship quality from the past two decades, answering three guiding questions: (RQ1) From whose vantage point has the research been conducted? (RQ2) What types of questions have been valued? (RQ3) Whose voices have been included (and excluded)? Using a scoping review methodology, we identified 23 articles meeting inclusion criteria (empirical studies that used daily methodologies, focused on romantic relationships, and examined associations between stress or stressors and relationship quality). Findings revealed most of this research was conducted by researchers in Psychology and Family Studies (or related disciplines) working in the U.S. (RQ1). Studies were quantitative and largely dyadic, often adopting theoretical perspectives without particular theorizing on context and identity (RQ2). Samples were predominantly White, U.S.-based, and comprised of different-sex couples (RQ3). In addition, studies typically did not report (or excluded from analyses) demographics related to cisnormativity/cissexism, heteronormativity/heterosexism, ableism, and placeism/Western industrialized rich democratic samples. Finally, even though studies often included participants from different age groups, races, and social classes, minority and underserved identities were under-represented. We conclude with specific recommendations for future research aimed to remedy these limitations to advance further the decolonization of the research on daily stress and relationship quality.
The quality of romantic relationships influences physical and mental health. However, maintaining happy and healthy relationships is challenging; relationship satisfaction declines over time, and relationship dissolution is frequent. This raises the question of which factors contribute to the maintenance versus decline of relationship satisfaction. In this Review, we examine the key factors that have been linked to relationship satisfaction in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Specifically, we describe how self-reported perceptions (subjective perceptions of the self, the partner or the relationship), implicit evaluations (automatic evaluations of one’s partner assessed indirectly) and objective indexes (demographics, life events, communication patterns and biological indexes) relate to relationship satisfaction. This synthesis suggests that self-reported perceptions are not always the most reliable predictors of longitudinal changes in relationship satisfaction. Thus, to uncover why some relationships flourish and others struggle over time, future research should not solely focus on self-reported perceptions, but also on implicit evaluations, demographics, life events, communication patterns and biological factors, and their combination. The quality of romantic relationships influences physical and mental health. However, maintaining happy and healthy relationships is challenging. In this Review, Righetti et al. examine the key factors that have been linked to relationship satisfaction in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.
We investigated goal conflict between romantic relationships and individual goals. In Study 1, 25 retired couples (N = 50) discussed a goal perceived as conflicting with the relationship. Dyadic results suggest both actor and partner general perceptions of goal conflict predicted lower relationship satisfaction. Goal conflict around the goal discussed predicted lower responsiveness from partners, higher negative affect, and diastolic blood pressure reactivity. In Study 2, goal conflict in retired, married individuals (N = 185) was negatively associated with closeness, self-efficacy, and mental and physical health. Relationship satisfaction was a mechanism behind associations with goal conflict across studies. This research demonstrates negative implications of goal conflict for relationship and individual well-being during retirement. Findings contribute to a growing literature suggesting that goals and support for growth are important as we age. Further, results suggest that goal conflict is detrimental to health, which is essential to protect in older adulthood.
Philosophers and scientists have long debated the nature of human social interactions and the prevalence of mutual dependence, conflict of interests, and power asymmetry in social situations. Yet, there is surprisingly little empirical work documenting the patterns of interdependence that people experience in daily life. We use experience sampling to study how people think about 3 dimensions of interdependence in daily life and how these dimensions relate to cooperation. In Study 1, 139 romantic couples (n = 278) reported on situations experienced with their partner (k = 6,766); in Study 2, individuals (n = 284) reported on situations experienced with any other person (k = 7,248), over the course of 1 week. Across both samples, we found that most social interactions were perceived as containing moderate mutual dependence, equal power, and corresponding interests. When couples reported on the same situation (Study 1), they largely agreed on their experienced interdependence and cooperation, suggesting that their reports reflect an underlying shared reality. In daily interactions across both samples, higher mutual dependence and lower conflict of interests were associated with more cooperation, whereas relative power was not directly related to cooperation. These associations replicated in laboratory experiments (Study 2). In daily life, high mutual dependence and high relative power exacerbated the negative relation between conflict of interests and cooperation. Finally, prevalent patterns of interdependence and the experience of specific interdependent situations affected multiple relationship outcomes. Our findings stress the importance of studying a diverse array of interdependent situations-and especially situations with corresponding interests-to better understand cooperation in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Cambridge Core - Social Psychology - Interdependence, Interaction, and Close Relationships - edited by Laura V. Machia
The number of intensive longitudinal studies that investigate affective experiences at the withinperson rather than the between-person level is rapidly increasing. This paradigmatic shift comes with new challenges, such as questions revolving around how to measure within-person affect variation or more fundamental questions about the reliability and validity of constructs at the within-person level. We provide a review of substantive research published in Emotion since 2005, which revealed that to date no consensus has been established on measurement instruments for assessing withinperson affective experiences. Our review also showed that researchers who are interested in within-person affect variation sometimes rely on measurement instruments that were established at the between-person level, which we think should be reconsidered. Finally, reliability estimates of state variation have been developed but are not comprehensively reported in studies on withinperson affect variation. The purpose of this article is therefore to alert the reader to these issues and to highlight relevant criteria for selecting items and measurement instruments when studying within-person affect variation in intensive longitudinal studies. We recommend establishing common standards for measuring within-person affect variation and drawing from a common pool of instruments, which would allow direct comparison of results across studies.
Romantic partners often face situations in which their preferences, interests and goals are not well aligned—what is good for one partner is not good for the other. In these situations, people need to make a decision between pursuing their own self-interest and sacrificing for their partner or the relationship. In this work, we discuss antecedents and consequences of sacrifice in close relationships. Specifically, we address when people are more likely to sacrifice, what are the motivations driving a sacrifice, and what are the affective consequences of this behavior for the person who makes the sacrifice (i.e., the actor), for the person who receives the sacrifice (i.e., the recipient), and for the relationship. We conclude by discussing important directions for future research on the implications of sacrifice for the well-being of individuals and their relationships.
Empathy plays a key role in maintaining close relationships and promoting prosocial conflict resolution. However, research has not addressed the potential emotional cost of adolescents’ high empathy, particularly when relationships are characterized by more frequent conflict. The present 6-year longitudinal study (N = 467) investigated whether conflict with parents predicted emotion dysregulation more strongly for high-empathy adolescents than for lower-empathy adolescents. Emotion dysregulation was operationalized at both the experiential level, using mood diary data collected for 3 weeks each year, and at the dispositional level, using annual self-report measures. In line with predictions, we found that more frequent adolescent–parent conflict predicted greater day-to-day mood variability and dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation for high-empathy adolescents, but not for average- and low-empathy adolescents. Mood variability and difficulties in emotion regulation, in turn, also predicted increased conflict with parents. These links were not moderated by empathy. Moreover, our research allowed for a novel investigation of the interplay between experiential and dispositional emotion dysregulation. Day-to-day mood variability predicted increasing dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation over time, which suggests that experiential dysregulation becomes consolidated into dispositional difficulties in emotion regulation. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that, for high-empathy adolescents, conflict was a driver of this dysregulation consolidation process. Finally, emotion dysregulation played a role in overtime conflict maintenance for high-empathy adolescents. This suggests that, through emotion dysregulation, high empathy may paradoxically also contribute to maintaining negative adolescent–parent interactions. Our research indicates that high empathy comes at a cost when adolescent–parent relationships are characterized by greater negativity.
Helping behavior predicts both positive and negative outcomes for helpers' health and well-being. One reason for this may be that helpers can engage in different kinds of perspective taking, which in turn have different effects on well-being. Imaging oneself in a suffering other's place, or imagine-self perspective taking (ISPT), has been shown to lead to greater levels of personal distress than merely thinking about the other's feelings, or imagine-other perspective taking (IOPT). However, no research has examined the effects of ISPT and IOPT live as a person is engaged in helping behavior. Since self-report on emotional states is obtrusive during pursuit of a helping goal we examined distress indirectly by exploring whether ISPT and IOPT might differentially affect stress physiology during helping behavior. The present research set out to explore whether different forms of perspective taking may differently affect a helper's stress physiology. We hypothesized that during helping ISPT would induce a pattern of negative arousal, or threat, while IOPT would predict relatively greater invigorating arousal, or challenge. 202 participants (83 women) engaged in ISPT, IOPT, or remaining objective while actively providing help to a suffering person via a speech task. As predicted, ISPT compared to IOPT/remaining objective resulted in relative threat, whereas IOPT resulted in marginally greater relative challenge. This effect was mediated by increased perceived demands of the situation. Moreover, self-reported distress was only associated with threat during ISPT, but not during IOPT. Different forms of perspective taking may have different effects on helpers' health and well-being.
We investigated whether partners in newly developing romantic relationships adjust their goals when they experience conflict with the goals of their partner, and the consequences of goal conflict and goal adjustment. Fifty-nine newly dating couples (N = 118) reported on their goals at an initial session and again 3 months later. Multilevel models indicated that when people reported higher conflict between a goal and their partner’s goals, they were more likely to stop pursuing as well as to devalue the importance of that particular goal over time. Furthermore, goal devaluing was associated with increases in relationship commitment over time but decreases in women’s relationship satisfaction when their partners devalued conflicting goals. Overall levels of goal conflict were associated with marginal decreases in relationship satisfaction. These results indicate that romantic partners try to adjust their goals to reduce goal conflict even in developing relationships, and that these adjustments have consequences for relationship satisfaction and commitment.
Experience sampling or ecological momentary assessment offers unique insights into how people think, feel, and behave in their natural environments. Because the method is able to capture situational variation as it happens in “real time,” experience sampling has become an increasingly popular method in social and personality, psychology, and beyond. With the ubiquity of smartphone ownership and the recent technical advances, conducting experience sampling studies on participants’ own devices has become increasingly easy to do. Here, we present one reliable, user-friendly, highly customizable, and cost-effective solution. The web-based application, SurveySignal, integrates the idea of using short message service (SMS) messages as signals and reminders, according to fixed or random schedules and of linking these signals to mobile surveys designed with common online survey software. We describe the method and customizable parameters and then present evaluation results from nine social–psychological studies conducted with SurveySignal (overall N = 1,852). Mean response rates averaged 77% and the median response delay to signals was 8 min. An experimental manipulation of the reminder signal in one study showed that installing a reminder SMS led to a 10% increase in response rates. Next to advantages and limitations of the SMS approach, we discuss how ecologically valid research methods such as smartphone experience sampling can enrich psychological research.
Romantic partners often have to sacrifice their interests to benefit their partner or to maintain the relationship. In the present work, we investigated whether relative power within the relationship plays an important role in determining the extent to which partners are likely to sacrifice. Drawing from both classic theories and recent research on power, we tested two competing predictions on the relationship between power and sacrifice in romantic relationships. We tested whether (a) power is negatively related to sacrifice and (b) power is positively related to sacrifice. Furthermore, we also explored whether the association between power and sacrifice is moderated by commitment and inclusion of the other in the self. To test our hypotheses, we used different methodologies, including questionnaires, diary studies, and videotaped interactions. Results across the five studies (N = 1,088) consistently supported the hypothesis that power is negatively related to tendencies to sacrifice in close relationships.
© 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
Up until now, no really short instrument that measures the six personality dimensions of the HEXACO model has been available. In two studies, I report the construction of the Brief HEXACO Inventory (BHI), which represents the 24 HEXACO facets with 1 item per facet (i.e., 4 items per domain) and which takes approximately 2–3 min to complete. Although characterized by relatively low alpha reliability, its test–retest stability, self-other agreement, and convergent correlations with full-length scales are relatively high and its validity loss is only modest. Correcting for attenuation using a weighted average of alpha reliability, test–retest stability, and self-other agreement, the BHI re-estimates the original construct validity correlations of the HEXACO-PI-R with relatively great accuracy.
One aim of this study was to test a model derived from Cutrona that conflict and depression partially mediate the relation between perceived and accurate empathy and relationship satisfaction. This was investigated in 149 heterosexual couples using dyadic analysis. As accurate empathy was not significantly related to relationship satisfaction when actual and assumed similarities were controlled, this model was only examined with perceived empathy. Apart from conflict in men, the actor effects of the model were supported. Perceived empathy was positively associated with relationship satisfaction and negatively associated with depression and conflict. Depression and conflict were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. There were two partner effects. Conflict in women was significantly associated with depression and relationship dissatisfaction in men.
Investigated, in 2 experiments, whether judgments of happiness and satisfaction with one's life are influenced by mood at the time of judgment. In Exp I, moods were induced by asking 61 undergraduates for vivid descriptions of a recent happy or sad event in their lives. In Exp II, moods were induced by interviewing 84 participants on sunny or rainy days. In both experiments, Ss reported more happiness and satisfaction with their life as a whole when in a good mood than when in a bad mood. However, the negative impact of bad moods was eliminated when Ss were induced to attribute their present feelings to transient external sources irrelevant to the evaluation of their lives; but Ss who were in a good mood were not affected by misattribution manipulations. The data suggest that (a) people use their momentary affective states in making judgments of how happy and satisfied they are with their lives in general and (b) people in unpleasant affective states are more likely to search for and use information to explain their state than are people in pleasant affective states. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Most studies have explored goal pursuit from an intraindividual perspective; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that people's relationships influence many aspects of goal pursuit (Fitzsimons and Finkel in Curr Direct Psychol Sci 19(2):101–105, 2010). The current study examined the influence of goal conflict between romantic partners on relationship quality and the subjective well-being of the partners. In a sample of 105 dating couples (N = 210) both partners provided ratings of their subjective well-being, relationship quality, and the degree of conflict they experience when trying to pursue their goals. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct dyadic analyses on the variables. Results showed that both partners' reports of higher goal conflict were directly associated with lower relationship quality and lower subjective well-being. Lower relationship quality was, in turn, also associated with lower subjective well-being. Furthermore, one partner's report of goal conflict was indirectly related to the other partner's subjective well-being through relationship quality. These findings indicate that relational influences on goal pursuit have implications not only for goal pursuit but also for well-being and relationship quality.
Empathy--the ability to share the feelings of others--is fundamental to our emotional and social lives. Previous human imaging studies focusing on empathy for others' pain have consistently shown activations in regions also involved in the direct pain experience, particularly anterior insula and anterior and midcingulate cortex. These findings suggest that empathy is, in part, based on shared representations for firsthand and vicarious experiences of affective states. Empathic responses are not static but can be modulated by person characteristics, such as degree of alexithymia. It has also been shown that contextual appraisal, including perceived fairness or group membership of others, may modulate empathic neuronal activations. Empathy often involves coactivations in further networks associated with social cognition, depending on the specific situation and information available in the environment. Empathy-related insular and cingulate activity may reflect domain-general computations representing and predicting feeling states in self and others, likely guiding adaptive homeostatic responses and goal-directed behavior in dynamic social contexts.
Three studies evaluated the reliability and validity of the Investment Model Scale, an instrument designed to measure four constructs, including commitment level and three bases of dependence–satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. In all three studies, reliability analyses revealed good internal consistency among items designed to measure each construct. Also, principal components analyses performed on scale items revealed evidence of four factors, with items designed to measure each construct loading on independent factors. Studies 2 and 3 examined associations of model variables with instruments measuring diverse qualities of relationships and assorted personal dispositions. As anticipated, Investment Model variables were moderately associated with other measures reflecting superior couple functioning (e.g., dyadic adjustment, trust level, inclusion of other in the self), and were essentially unrelated to measures assessing personal dispositions (e.g., need for cognition, self-esteem). In addition, Study 3 demonstrated that earlier measures of Investment Model variables predicted later levels of dyadic adjustment and later relationship status (persisted vs. ended). It is hoped that the existence of a reliable and valid Investment Model Scale will promote further research regarding commitment and interdependence in ongoing close relationships.
Describes the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and its relationships with measures of social functioning, self-esteem, emotionality, and sensitivity to others. 677 male and 667 female undergraduates served as Ss. Each of the 4 IRI subscales displayed a distinctive and predictable pattern of relationships with these measures, as well as with previous unidimensional empathy measures. Findings provide evidence for a multidimensional approach to empathy. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Being in a close relationship is essential to human existence. Such closeness can be described as including other in the self and be underpinned on social attachment system, which evolved from a redirection of nociceptive mechanisms. To what extent does imagining a loved-one differs from imagining an unfamiliar individual being in painful situations? In this functional MRI study, participants were exposed to animated stimuli depicting hands or feet in painful and non-painful situations, and instructed to imagine these scenarios from three different perspectives: self, loved-one and stranger after being primed with their respective photographs. In line with previous studies, the three perspectives were associated with activation of the neural network involved in pain processing. Specifically, adopting the perspective of a loved-one increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, whereas imagining a stranger induced a signal increase in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and superior frontal gyrus. The closer the participants' relationships were with their partner, the greater the deactivation in the right TPJ. A negative effective connectivity between the right TPJ and the insula, and a positive one with the superior frontal gyrus were found when participants imagined the perspective of a stranger. These results demonstrate that intimacy affects the bottom-up information processing involved in empathy, as indicated by greater overlap between neural representations of the self and the other.
A number of researchers have proposed that empathy, sympathy, or both, defined primarily in affective terms, may inhibit aggressive and antisocial behaviors (N. D. Feshbach & S. Feshbach, 1982; S. Feshbach, 1970; Parke & Slaby, 1983). Apart from brief reviews, however, no systematic review of the research concerning the relation of empathy/sympathy to aggression and other antisocial, externalizing behaviors has been conducted. In this review, we organized the relation of empathy/sympathy to relevant negative behaviors principally by mode of assessing empathy (i.e., picture/story, questionnaire methods, facial/gestural reactions, and experimental inductions) and analyzed empirical findings with meta-analytic techniques. Empathic/sympathetic responding was negatively related to aggression and antisocial, externalizing behaviors for questionnaire methods and negatively but nonsignificantly related for other indexes of empathy. Child abuse also was associated with low levels of empathy/sympathy, as was the receipt of such abuse. Relations between the empathy indexes and aggression/externalizing behaviors were generally the same for male and female subjects, especially after controlling for sample size. We discuss conceptual issues related to the pattern of findings, as well as directions for future research.
We examined the influence of goal conflict and ambivalence on psychological and physical well-being through the personal striving framework. Eighty-eight undergraduates in two studies listed 15 of their personal strivings and rated them on the amount of conflict experienced between them and ambivalence experienced about each. Diary and experience sampling methods were used to assess positive and negative affect and physical symptomatology. Conflict and ambivalence were associated with high levels of negative affect, depression, neuroticism, and psychosomatic complaints. Conflict was also associated with health center visits and illnesses over the past year. A 1-year follow-up demonstrated that conflict and ambivalence ratings were stable and that these ratings predicted psychosomatic complaints over time. In a third study, undergraduates' thoughts and activities were randomly sampled over a 3-week period. Subjects were less likely to act on conflictful and ambivalent strivings but to spend more time thinking about these strivings.
In a prior review involving a meta-analysis (Underwood & Moore, 1982), no relation between affective empathy and prosocial behavior was found. In this article, the literature relevant to this issue is reexamined. The studies were organized according to the method used to assess empathy. When appropriate, meta-analyses were computed. In contrast to the earlier review, low to moderate positive relations generally were found between empathy and both prosocial behavior and cooperative/socially competent behavior. The method of assessing empathy did influence the strength of the relations; picture/story measures of empathy were not associated with prosocial behavior, whereas nearly all other measures were. Several possible explanations for the pattern of findings are discussed, as are the implications of the findings.
The idea that empathy may best be considered a multidimensional construct, consisting of both cognitive and emotional facets, has recently been gaining in popularity. To date, however, little research explicitly based on such a view has been carried out. We conducted the present experiment to explore the different influences of cognitive and emotional empathy on two types of responses to dramatic stimuli: positive and negative emotional reactions. Consistent with a multidimensional view of empathy, the two types of empathy exhibited different effects; positive emotional reactions were affected primarily by cognitive empathy, and negative emotional reactions were most heavily influenced by emotional empathy. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance to a multidimensional approach to the study of empathic responding.
Interdependence theory presents a logical analysis of the structure of interpersonal situations, offering a conceptual framework in which interdependence situations can be analyzed in terms of six dimensions. Specific situations present specific problems and opportunities, logically implying the relevance of specific motives and permitting their expression. Via the concept of transformation, the theory explains how interaction is shaped by broader considerations such as long-term goals and concern for a partner's welfare. The theory illuminates our understanding of social-cognitive processes that are of longstanding interest to psychologists such as cognition and affect, attribution, and self-presentation. The theory also explains adaptation to repeatedly encountered interdependence patterns, as well as the embodiment of such adaptations in interpersonal dispositions, relationship-specific motives, and social norms.
There is disagreement in the literature about the exact nature of the phenomenon of empathy. There are emotional, cognitive, and conditioning views, applying in varying degrees across species. An adequate description of the ultimate and proximate mechanism can integrate these views. Proximately, the perception of an object's state activates the subject's corresponding representations, which in turn activate somatic and autonomic responses. This mechanism supports basic behaviors (e.g., alarm, social facilitation, vicariousness of emotions, mother-infant responsiveness, and the modeling of competitors and predators) that are crucial for the reproductive success of animals living in groups. The Perception-Action Model (PAM), together with an understanding of how representations change with experience, can explain the major empirical effects in the literature (similarity, familiarity, past experience, explicit teaching, and salience). It can also predict a variety of empathy disorders. The interaction between the PAM and prefrontal functioning can also explain different levels of empathy across species and age groups. This view can advance our evolutionary understanding of empathy beyond inclusive fitness and reciprocal altruism and can explain different levels of empathy across individuals, species, stages of development, and situations.
This research provided the first empirical investigation of how approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice in intimate relationships are associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. In Study 1, the nature of everyday sacrifices made by dating partners was examined, and a measure of approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice was developed. In Study 2, which was a 2-week daily experience study of college students in dating relationships, specific predictions from the theoretical model were tested and both longitudinal and dyadic components were included. Whereas approach motives for sacrifice were positively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality, avoidance motives for sacrifice were negatively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. Sacrificing for avoidance motives was particularly detrimental to the maintenance of relationships over time. Perceptions of a partner's motives for sacrifice were also associated with well-being and relationship quality. Implications for the conceptualization of relationship maintenance processes along these 2 dimensions are discussed.
Procedures for examining whether treatment effects on an outcome are mediated and/or moderated have been well developed and are routinely applied. The mediation question focuses on the intervening mechanism that produces the treatment effect. The moderation question focuses on factors that affect the magnitude of the treatment effect. It is important to note that these two processes may be combined in informative ways, such that moderation is mediated or mediation is moderated. Although some prior literature has discussed these possibilities, their exact definitions and analytic procedures have not been completely articulated. The purpose of this article is to define precisely both mediated moderation and moderated mediation and provide analytic strategies for assessing each.
Appropriately centering Level 1 predictors is vital to the interpretation of intercept and slope parameters in multilevel models (MLMs). The issue of centering has been discussed in the literature, but it is still widely misunderstood. The purpose of this article is to provide a detailed overview of grand mean centering and group mean centering in the context of 2-level MLMs. The authors begin with a basic overview of centering and explore the differences between grand and group mean centering in the context of some prototypical research questions. Empirical analyses of artificial data sets are used to illustrate key points throughout. The article provides a number of practical recommendations designed to facilitate centering decisions in MLM applications.
Incompatibility is surely the scourge of the realm of interpersonal relationships. It appears with the frequency of the common cold, but unlike that nuisance, incompatibility often proves fatal to many relationships. Furthermore, those who succumb to it often enjoy neither an easy death nor a quick one. As the explanatory epitaph on the death certificates of these doomed relationships, the word “incompatibility” often fails to capture the misery, frustration, and broken dreams that were its agonizing symptoms, as well as the heroic efforts of individual will, and of therapeutic intervention, that sometimes precede the final judgment.
Previous research has found that some people suppress their emotions when making a sacrifice for their relationship partner and that this can reduce relationship satisfaction. We suggest that trust in one's partner determines who suppresses their emotions during a sacrifice. We hypothesize that individuals with low, compared to high, trust in their partners will be more likely to suppress their emotions when they sacrifice for their partner and that this, in turn, will reduce satisfaction with the outcome of sacrifice, and will subsequently affect personal and relational outcomes (e.g., mood and relationship satisfaction, respectively). Romantic couples (N = 130) participated in an experience sampling study that assessed emotional suppression immediately after making a sacrifice for their partner in their daily lives. Results showed that trust negatively related to emotional suppression when making a sacrifice. Moreover, we found that emotional suppression led to lower satisfaction with the outcome of sacrifice, which in turn resulted in a lower relationship satisfaction (and a negative mood). We discuss the importance of trust in emotion regulation in close relationships and engaging in behaviors that prevent (or confront) relationship conflict.
Do we humans ever, in any degree, care about others for their sakes and not simply for our own? Psychology has long assumed that everything humans do, no matter how nice and noble, is motivated by self-interest. However, research over the past three decades suggests that this assumption is wrong. This research has focused on the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which claims that empathic concern-an other-oriented emotional response elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of a person in need-produces altruistic motivation-motivation with the ultimate goal of increasing another's welfare. Results of the over 30 experiments designed to test this hypothesis against various egoistic alternatives have proved remarkably supportive, leading to the tentative conclusion that feeling empathic concern for a person in need does indeed evoke altruistic motivation to see that need relieved. Sources of altruistic motivation other than empathy also have been proposed, but as yet, there is not compelling research evidence to support these proposals. Two additional forms of prosocial motivation have also been proposed: collectivism and principlism. Collectivism-motivation with the ultimate goal of benefiting some group or collective as a whole-has been claimed to result from group identity. Principlism-motivation with the ultimate goal of upholding some moral principle-has long been advocated by religious teachers and moral philosophers. Whether either is a separate form of motivation, independent of and irreducible to egoism, is not yet clear. Research done to test for the existence of empathy-induced altruism may serve as a useful model for future research testing for the existence of collectivism and principlism. Theoretical and practical implications of the empathy-altruism hypothesis are briefly considered.
Recent research has supported a model that specifies the way dispositional empathy influences everyday social behavior, the present investigation examined one possible boundary condition of the model It was posited that high levels of heterosocial anxiety constitute a self-oriented affective reaction that interferes with the operation of an other-oriented empathic response. As a result, the usual association between dispositional empathy and social behaviors should be weakened among those high in heterosocial anxiety. Data collected from 119 college students involved in monogamous romantic relationships provided partial support for this hypothesis. Evidence for the predicted moderating effect was found for positive social behaviors but not for negative behaviors. Evidence also suggested that the moderating effect was strongest for dispositional perspective taking-the most cognitive facet of empathy-and considerably weaker for the affective constructs of empathic concern and personal distress.
The studies presented in this paper examined empathy, especially perspective taking, as a potential inhibitor of interpersonal aggression. The theoretical rationale for these investigations derived from Zillmann's [(1988): Aggressive Behavior 14: 51–64] cognitive excitation model. Study 1 revealed that dispositional empathy correlates negatively with self-reported aggression and with conflict responses that reflect little concern for the needs of the other party. Empathy also was positively related to constructive responses to interpersonal conflict (i. e., those that do involve concern for the needs of the other party). In Study 2, perspective taking was manipulated with instructions to subjects prior to participation in a reaction-time task designed to measure aggression. When threat was relatively low, subjects who were instructed to take the perspective of the target responded less aggressively than did those who had been instructed to focus on the task. Study 3 examined the effect of dispositional perspective taking on verbal aggression. Threat was manipulated in terms of the combination of provocation and gender of the interactants. As predicted, perspective taking related to aggression inhibition under conditions of moderate threat–for males under low provocation and females under high provocation. These effects were predicted and explained in the context of the cognitive-excitation model. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
www.intensivelongitudinal.com : A complete, practical guide to planning and executing an intensive longitudinal study, this book provides the tools for understanding within-subject social, psychological, and physiological processes in everyday contexts. Intensive longitudinal studies involve many repeated measurements taken on individuals, dyads, or groups, and include diary and experience sampling studies. A range of engaging, worked-through research examples with datasets are featured. Coverage includes how to: select the best intensive longitudinal design for a particular research question, model within-subject change processes for continuous and categorical outcomes, distinguish within-subject from between-subjects effects, assess the reliability of within-subject changes, assure sufficient statistical power, and more. Several end-of-chapter write-ups illustrate effective ways to present study findings for publication. Datasets and output in SPSS, SAS, Mplus, HLM, MLwiN, and R for the examples are available on the companion website (www.intensivelongitudinal.com).
On the basis of a series of recent investigations linking personality, social behavior, and social satisfaction, as well as the theoretical concept of relational competence, we propose a model of relationship satisfaction. The model is based on the notion that personality in general and empathy in particular affect relationship satisfaction through their influences on specific mediating behaviors. The tenets of the model were tested by assessing the key constructs for both members of 264 heterosexual romantic couples. In general, the model was strongly supported, as three separate facets of dispositional empathy had separate and predictable influences on self-reported behavior, which in turn significantly influenced partners' perceptions of those behaviors. Also as expected, perceptions of partner behavior were significant influences on one's satisfaction with the relationship. The model worked especially well for longer term relationships and somewhat better for predicting female behavior; the role of one facet of empathy—perspective taking—was especially strong for longer relationships. Thus, the model appears to be a fruitful way to examine the role of personality on social and psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This book explores a single theme—that the emotions, cognitions, and behaviors of love can be understood in terms of a basic motivation to expand the self. It also provides a broad overview of the literature on interpersonal attraction and on the maintenance of close relationships—not only romantic relationships, but friendship, sibling, and parent- child relationships as well. The book's main purpose, however, is to stimulate thinking by offering a new approach to unifying this wealth of data, using the idea of self-expansion, and to illustrate this idea's theoretical and practical implications.
As for the book's authors, we are two psychologists—one social, one clinical; the intended readers are our colleagues in psychology, sociology, marriage and family counseling, communications, psychiatry, ethology, and other fields, who are researching and/or trying to facilitate loving relationships. We also hope that the book will be useful for students in graduate or advanced undergraduate courses studying close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Affective well-being in romantic couples was examined from the perspective of interdependence theory.
The independent variables were (a) presence of partner, (b) whether an activity met the actor’s goals, and
(c) goals of the actor’s partner. Dependent variables were feelings of closeness and affective well-being
(happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety). We predicted a three-way interaction with the highest affective
well-being when partners are together and activities meet both partners’ goals. In Study 1, data from
194 married individuals who participated in an experience sampling study supported our predictions.
Feelings of closeness partially mediated the effect on affective well-being. Study 2 replicated the findings
with 112 participants in dating relationships who recalled specific events and made ratings about goals
and affective well-being.
The question raised in this paper is whether goal conflicts can occur outside of conscious awareness. Given the numerous and potentially conflicting goals people pursue, and the severe scarcity of mental resources, we offer a positive answer. Six experiments that employed a dissociation paradigm tested this hypothesis. Using three implicit behavioral markers of goal conflict (increased decision times, increased decision variance and heightened sensitivity to environmental information), and one physiological marker (increased arousal as measured by skin conductance level), these experiments document goal conflicts that do not reach conscious awareness.
In this behavioral observation study, the authors tested predictions derived from various trust models concerning how individuals who are high vs. low in chronic trust perceive and behave during strain-test discussions with their romantic partners. Partners in 92 married/cohabitating couples identified and discussed 2 major strain-test issues in their relationship. Each partner (when in the role of asker) identified something she or he really wanted to do or accomplish that required the greatest sacrifice by his or her partner (in the responding role). Each videotaped discussion was then rated by trained coders. The results revealed that (a) high trust responders were more accommodating during the strain-test discussions than low trust responders; (b) high trust askers were more open/collaborative with the accommodation they received during the discussions than low trust askers; (c) high trust askers overestimated the amount of accommodation they received from their responding partners (relative to coder's ratings); (d) when in discussions that were more threatening, high trust askers showed a correction effect by reporting larger pre- to postdiscussion increases in state trust; and (e) when asked to make larger sacrifices, high trust responders showed a similar correction effect by displaying greater accommodation. These findings are discussed in terms of mutual responsiveness processes in relationships.
