Objective: This study examines the association of marital strain—as reported by each spouse—with psychological distress and considers whether the associations vary for men and women in gay, lesbian, ...and heterosexual marriages.
Background: Prior studies show that marital strain is associated with psychological distress. However, most studies rely on only one spouse's perspective and do not consider how appraisals of strain from both spouses may contribute to distress. Moreover, possible gender differences in these associations have been considered only for heterosexual couples.
Method: The analyses are based on 10 days of dyadic diary data from 756 midlife U.S. men and women in 378 gay, lesbian, and heterosexual marriages. Multilevel modeling is used to examine the association of self‐ and spouse‐reported marital strain with psychological distress; actor‐partner interdependence models explore possible gender differences in these associations.
Results: Both self‐reports and spousal reports of marital strain are associated with psychological distress, with notable gender differences. The associations of self‐ and spouse‐reported marital strain with distress are stronger for women in different‐sex marriages when compared with men in same‐sex and different‐sex marriages. The association is also stronger for women in different‐sex marriages when compared with women in same‐sex marriages, but for self‐reported strain only.
Conclusion: Marital appraisals by both spouses are important for psychological well‐being and may be especially important for the well‐being of women in different‐sex marriages.
•Using 894 college students in Taiwan, we found out that only 1% of the sample was classified as addicts, but 17.8% was on the alert stage.•Approximate 80% of the sample used Facebook everyday, and ...10% of them spent more than 8h a day.•Interpersonal relationships and online social support was found positively related to Facebook addiction.•Some personality traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism were negatively associated with Facebook addiction.•Online interpersonal relationship and neuroticism were found to be the prominent predictors of Facebook addiction.
Because of the prevalence of mobile devices, the overuse of social networking sites has become a global phenomenon. One of the most popular social networking sites, Facebook, has received a considerable attention in recent years, and the excessive use of Facebook has become a major concern in schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons for Facebook addiction. By surveying 894 college students in Taiwan, we found that although only 1% was classified as addicts, 17.8% were in the alert group. Approximately 80% of the students used Facebook every day, and 10% spent more than 8h a day on Facebook. Interpersonal relationships and online social support were found to be positively associated with Facebook addiction; however, some personality traits, such as agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, were negatively associated with Facebook addiction. Online interpersonal relationships and neuroticism were found to be prominent predictors of Facebook addiction. Practical implications are provided herein.
After committing an offense, a transgressor faces an important decision regarding whether and how to apologize to the person who was harmed. The actions he or she chooses to take after committing an ...offense can have dramatic implications for the victim, the transgressor, and their relationship. Although high-quality apologies are extremely effective at promoting reconciliation, transgressors often choose to offer a perfunctory apology, withhold an apology, or respond defensively to the victim. Why might this be? In this article, I propose three major barriers to offering high-quality apologies: (a) low concern for the victim or relationship, (b) perceived threat to the transgressor’s self-image, and (c) perceived apology ineffectiveness. I review recent research examining how these barriers affect transgressors’ apology behavior and describe insights this emerging work provides for developing methods to move transgressors toward more reparative behavior. Finally, I discuss important directions for future research.
Many everyday conversations, whether between close partners or strangers interacting for the first time, are about the world external to their relationship, such as music, food, or current events. ...Yet, the focus of most research on interpersonal relationships to date has been on the ways in which partners perceive each other and their relationship. We propose that one critical aspect of interpersonal interactions is developing a sense of dyadic, generalized shared reality-the subjective experience of sharing a set of inner states (e.g., thoughts, feelings, or beliefs) in common with a particular interaction partner about the world in general, including the world external to the relationship. Across 9 studies, we use mixed methods to investigate the unique role of generalized shared reality in interpersonal interactions, both between close partners and strangers. We hypothesize that generalized shared reality predicts how people connect with each other and perceive the world around them. We also investigate the observable, dyadic behavioral signatures of generalized shared reality in interpersonal interactions. Finally, we examine the motivation to uphold an existing sense of generalized shared reality. We hypothesize that couples high on baseline generalized shared reality exhibit motivated, dyadic interaction behaviors to reaffirm their generalized shared reality in the face of experimentally manipulated threat. By identifying a unique dimension of everyday interactions, these studies aim to capture a critical aspect of the lived subjective experience of human relationships that has not been captured before.
Where do individual differences in emotion regulation come from? This review examines theoretical and empirical evidence describing the role that personality traits play in shaping individuals' ...intrapersonal and interpersonal regulation styles. We define and delineate personality traits and emotion regulation and summarize empirical relations between them. Specifically, we review research on the Big Five personality traits in relation to each stage of Gross' (2015) extended process model of emotion regulation. In doing so, we document evidence concerning the relationships between personality traits and three key stages of emotion regulation, namely, identification (i.e., choosing which emotions to regulate), selection (i.e., choosing a broad regulatory approach), and implementation (i.e., adopting specific regulatory tactics). Finally, we make recommendations for future research that we hope will guide researchers in building a systematic understanding of how personality traits shape intrapersonal and interpersonal emotion regulation.
Objective
This study explores how life transitions, such as cohabitation, marriage, separation/divorce, and childbearing, affect three dimensions of full‐sibling relationships (contact, intimacy, and ...conflict).
Background
Sibling relationships shape family dynamics and context, providing enduring support and affection as the longest‐lasting relationships in an individual's life. Studying their evolution during life transitions enhances our understanding of these dynamics, considering their prolonged nature, peer status, and shared family history.
Method
We use data from the German Family Panel, specifically five waves (V, VII, IX, XI, and XIII), and fixed effects regression models that acknowledge life course transitions of both sibling dyads.
Results
The life course perspective fails to fully capture the complex sibling bond, as contact between siblings decreased when one entered into cohabitation, but increased with marriage, separation, and parenthood. Nevertheless, the findings revealed that changes in sibling intimacy afterlife course transitions are consistent with the perspective. This dimension weakened during family formation but strengthened when unions dissolved. Conflict between siblings also decreased when starting to live with a partner, while it increased after separation, implying a spillover from romantic to sibling relationships.
Conclusion
Overall, these findings suggest that the theoretical framework for adult sibling life courses should consider sibling family formation events. The study highlights the significance of sibling relationships and their potential impact on shaping family context and dynamics as they are often the longest‐lasting relationships.
Attachment anxiety is a form of attachment insecurity characterized by chronic worries about rejection and need for reassurance. Given the critical role a sense of security plays in maintaining ...healthy relationships, individuals high in attachment anxiety tend to struggle in romantic relationships, which carries serious implications for their broader physical and psychological well-being. Nevertheless, an individual's attachment anxiety continues to change throughout life and can be downregulated by later relationship environments. In this research, we used 7-year longitudinal data (n = 2,057) to examine 1 potential predictor of declines in attachment anxiety in an established romantic relationship: perceiving gratitude from a partner. Random intercept cross-lagged panel analyses supported our prediction that perceiving higher than typical levels of gratitude from a romantic partner was linked with reduced attachment anxiety at that time and, importantly, the following year. These results were independent of the individual's fluctuations in global relationship satisfaction, suggesting the unique power of gratitude. Our findings provide strong evidence that later interpersonal environments can indeed shape an individual's attachment anxiety.
Reports an error in "The interpersonal costs of dishonesty: How dishonest behavior reduces individuals’ ability to read others’ emotions" by Julia J. Lee, Ashley E. Hardin, Bidhan Parmar, and ...Francesca Gino ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2019Sep, Vol 1489, 1557-1574). Concerns were raised regarding the findings reported in Study 3 related to data exclusions that may have affected the results. As a result, the findings reported in Study 3 cannot be relied upon. The remaining base of empirical evidence presented in this publication, excluding Study 3, supports the assertion that dishonesty reduces empathic accuracy. The authors (Lee, Hardin, Parmar, & Gino) have requested this correction. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2019-38884-001.) In this research, we examine the unintended consequences of dishonest behavior for one’s interpersonal abilities and subsequent ethical behavior. Specifically, we unpack how dishonest conduct can reduce one’s generalized empathic accuracy—the ability to accurately read other people’s emotional states. In the process, we distinguish these 2 constructs from one another and demonstrate a causal relationship. The effects of dishonesty on empathic accuracy that we found were significant, but modest in size. Across 8 studies (n = 2,588), we find support for (a) a correlational and causal account of dishonest behavior reducing empathic accuracy; (b) an underlying mechanism of reduced relational self-construal (i.e., the tendency to define the self in terms of close relationships); (c) negative downstream consequences of impaired empathic accuracy, in terms of dehumanization and subsequent dishonesty; and (d) a physiological trait (i.e., vagal reactivity) that serves as a boundary condition for the relationship between dishonest behavior and empathic accuracy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Through the Eyes of Love Fletcher, Garth J. O; Kerr, Patrick S. G
Psychological bulletin,
07/2010, Volume:
136, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This article reviews the research literature and theory concerned with accuracy of judgments in romantic relationships. We initially propose a model of cognition in (romantic) relationships that ...distinguishes between 2 forms of accuracy: mean-level bias and tracking accuracy. We then report the results of meta-analyses of research on heterosexual, romantic relationships, which used external benchmarks and reported levels of tracking accuracy (98 studies) and/or mean-level bias (48 studies). The results revealed robust overall effect sizes for both tracking accuracy (
r
= .47) and positive mean-level bias (
r
= .09). As expected, the effects were substantial and positive for tracking accuracy across 6 judgmental categories, whereas signed mean-level bias was negative for the interaction attributions (e.g., love, communication). The results showed, as expected, that these 2 forms of accuracy were independent-the 2 kinds of effect size derived from the same set of 38 studies were uncorrelated. As expected, gender, relationship length, and relationship evaluations moderated mean-level bias across studies but (unexpectedly) not for tracking accuracy. In the Discussion we evaluate the prior model in light of the findings, other research, moderating variables (such as self-esteem), the role of projection, the early stages of mate selection, metacognition, and the rationality and nature of motivated cognition. We conclude that our model, findings, and analyses help to resolve the apparent paradox that love is both riven with illusions and rooted in reality, and support both evolutionary and social psychological approaches to understanding cognition in romantic relationships.
Research has begun to document the negative organizational consequences of knowledge hiding, or the intentional attempt to conceal knowledge, among employees. However, different knowledge hiding ...behaviours exist, and we explore whether some types of knowledge hiding are more harmful than others. Although theory would suggest that knowledge hiders rationalize their behaviours and fail to anticipate the negative consequences of their behaviours, we found that they did anticipate harmed relationships and retaliation. In addition, targets of knowledge hiding did not always construe the behaviour as harmful or as necessitating retaliation. Overall, our research suggests that not all knowledge hiding is equally harmful. Some types of knowledge hiding may actually enhance the relationships between colleagues and might break the cycle of knowledge hiding in organizations.