A longitudinal study of friendship development.

At 3-wk intervals during their 1st term at the university, 53 female and 31 male freshmen completed questionnaires regarding their relationships with 2 same-sex individuals whom they had just met. Results showed that dyads that successfully developed into close friendships by the end of the fall school term differed behaviorally and attitudinally from dyads that did not progress. As the friendships developed, the intimacy level of dyadic interaction accounted for an increasing percentage of the variance in ratings of friendship intensity beyond that accounted for by the sheer quantity of interaction. Ratings of relationship benefits were consistently positively correlated with friendship intensity and increased as the relationship progressed. There were no differences in ratings of relationship costs between close and nonclose friends. Dyadic behavior patterns and attitude ratings at the end of the fall school term were good predictors of friendship status 3 mo later. Motivational and situational factors were also correlated with friendship outcomes. Sex differences were noted: Females engaged in more casual affection behaviors with their close than with their nonclose friends. Males engaged in little casual affection with their friends, regardless of their degree of closeness. Results replicate the major findings of R. B. Hays (1984). (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome and attributional disagreements between students and their teachers.

Teachers' and students' outcome interpretations, attributions for the outcome, expectancies of future exam outcome, and perceptions concerning instrumental actions were compared after a math exam. One third of the students disagreed with their teacher about whether the exam outcome was a success or a failure; teachers evaluated the outcomes more positively than did students. When the students and the teachers agreed on the outcome interpretation, their mean attributional ratings did not apparently differ. However, ratings of teacher–student dyads revealed considerable attributional differences. After perceived failure, the dyadic attributional disagreements were related to disagreements concerning the instrumental actions needed for future success. Also, given failure, the more discrepant the dyad members' views of the stability of the attributions were, the more discrepant were their future expectations. Disagreements between students and teachers concerning outcome evaluation, causal perception, and future expectancy are discussed in terms of students' and teachers' biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-threat magnifies the self-serving bias: A meta-analytic integration.

Experiments testing the self-serving bias (SSB; taking credit for personal success but blaming external factors for personal failure) have used a multitude of moderators (i.e., role, task importance, outcome expectancies, self-esteem, achievement motivation, self-focused attention, task choice, perceived task difficulty, interpersonal orientation, status, affect, locus of control, gender, and task type). The present meta-analytic review established the viability and pervasiveness of the SSB and, more important, organized the 14 moderators just listed under the common theoretical umbrella of self-threat. According to the self-threat model, the high self-threat level of each moderator is associated with a larger display of the SSB than the low self-threat level. The model was supported: Self-threat magnifies the SSB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Big Five predictors of behavior and perceptions in initial dyadic interactions: Personality similarity helps extraverts and introverts, but hurts “disagreeables”.

The authors used the unstructured dyadic interaction paradigm to examine the effects of gender and the Big Five personality traits on dyad members’ behaviors and perceptions in 87 initial, unstructured interactions. Most of the significant Big Five effects (84%) were associated with the traits of Extraversion and Agreeableness. There were several significant actor and partner effects for both of these traits. However, the most interesting and novel effects took the form of significant Actor × Partner interactions. Personality similarity resulted in relatively good initial interactions for dyads composed of 2 extraverts or 2 introverts, when compared with dissimilar (extravert–introvert) pairs. However, personality similarity resulted in uniquely poor initial interactions for dyads composed of 2 “disagreeables.” In summary, the Big Five traits predict behavior and perceptions in initial dyadic interactions, not just in the form of actor and partner “main effects” but also in the form of Actor × Partner interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work-to-relationship conflict: Crossover effects in dual-earner couples.

To better understand the outcomes for couples whose work interferes with their relationships, with an emphasis on the crossover effects that can occur in close relationships, we examined experienced work-to-relationship conflict and perceptions of partner's work-to-relationship conflict for both members of 113 dual-earner couples. Outcomes of interests included relationship tension, health symptoms, and relationship satisfaction. Results indicate that personal work-to-relationship conflict and perceptions of partner's work-to-family conflict were related to personal as well as partner outcomes; a variety of direct crossover effects were demonstrated. The actor-partner interdependence model was incorporated to account for issues of interdependent data that naturally occur in relationship dyads, a methodological issue not typically addressed and accounted for in the dyadic work-family interface literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"I didn't do it:" Responsibility biases in open and closed groups.

Group members often take more responsibility for the group's outcomes than others give to them. Extending evidence that egocentrism can be muted when group members are individuated (the "unpacking effect"), the authors predicted that members of open groups would be less egocentric than members of closed groups. In open groups, the possibility of membership fluctuation reduces collectiveness, breaking the group into individuals, which in turn lessens egocentrism. The authors tested these predictions in a study of groups of students working on a task relevant to their academic success. Members claimed more personal responsibility when they worked in closed groups relative to open groups (egocentrism), and lack of cohesion mediated the open- versus closed-group link to responsibility allocations. Moreover, members of open groups did not take more responsibility after a success than a failure, whereas those in closed, successful groups claimed more credit than members of failure groups (self-serving bias). The discussion suggests that open groups, although often thought to create conflict as members compete, may contribute to a reduction in both egocentrism and self-serving responsibility allocations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dyadic nature of social information processing in boys' reactive and proactive aggression.

The correlation between boys' social cognitions and their aggressive behavior toward peers was examined as being actor driven, partner driven, or dyadic relationship driven. Eleven groups of 6 familiar boys each (N?=?165 dyads) met for 5 consecutive days to participate in play sessions and social-cognitive interviews. With a variance partitioning procedure, boys' social-cognitive processes were found to vary reliably across their dyadic relationships. Furthermore, mixed models regression analyses indicated that hostile attributional biases toward a particular peer were related to directly observed reactive aggression toward that peer even after controlling for actor and partner effects, suggesting that these phenomena are dyadic or relationship oriented. On the other hand, the relation between outcome expectancies for aggression and the display of proactive aggression appeared to be more actor driven and partner driven that dyadic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interdependence in women with breast cancer and their partners: An interindividual model of distress.

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to test whether interdependence in dyads living with breast cancer could account for person–partner crossover effects in distress outcomes. Method: The sample consisted of 95 dyads with early-stage breast cancer. By using reciprocal dyadic data from women with breast cancer and their partners, we fit a structural equation model of the actor–partner interdependence model to examine the interaction of participants’ depression and stress in predicting their partner’s health outcomes. Results: Results revealed a pattern of influence whereby the interaction of high levels of depression coupled with high levels of stress in women with breast cancer was associated with lowered physical health and well-being in their partners. Although depression seemed to be the key mechanism in predicting distressing outcomes, when depression was combined with any additional stress, the level of physical distress was significantly greater. Results provided preliminary empirical support for crossover effects in the physical well-being of close relational partners in a cancer-related context. Further, results showed that distressing outcomes need not be limited to emotional distress but can also include physical distress. Conclusions: The findings from this study illustrate why it is not sufficient to concentrate care solely on the patient with cancer. Monitoring the social well-being of patients as they go through the cancer process could be as important as assessing their psychological state or other peripheral biomarkers. This line of inquiry would be advanced by including methods other than self-report in assessments of psychological and physical health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structural equation modeling with interchangeable dyads.

Structural equation modeling (SEM) can be adapted in a relatively straightforward fashion to analyze data from interchangeable dyads (i.e., dyads in which the 2 members cannot be differentiated). The authors describe a general strategy for SEM model estimation, comparison, and fit assessment that can be used with either dyad-level or pairwise (double-entered) dyadic data. They present applications illustrating this approach with the actor-partner interdependence model, confirmatory factor analysis, and latent growth curve analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers and fathers interacting in dyads and triads with normal and hyperactive sons.

Mother–son and father–son interactions of families with hyperactive and normal 6- to 12-yr-old sons were observed in dyadic and triadic settings. There was more frequent coercion in families with hyperactive boys, especially when mothers and sons interacted in the dyadic setting. This mother–son acrimony carried over to the triadic context, wherein fathers exhibited a rescue-coercion pattern of behavior. Fathers increased, whereas mothers decreased, their demands of sons in triads over dyads, and both fathers and sons became more aversive toward each other in triads than in dyads. This pattern was not as clearly evident in the interactions of families with normal sons. Boys in both groups of families behaved more negatively toward mothers than toward fathers in dyadic interactions. Compared with fathers, mothers made more demands and were more emotionally expressive toward their sons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why do we trust? Moving beyond individual to dyadic perceptions.

Trust between coworkers is critical to the success of organizations and teams. This is especially true for those who are geographically dispersed and who must interact virtually. The authors studied the factors related to the development of trust between pairs of coworkers (dyads) in a new product development team. Some of the members were colocated, and others worked virtually. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, the authors found reciprocal effects for propensity to trust and trust in dyads. They found that propensity has greater influence on trust for virtual dyads and that trust has less influence on organizational citizenship when partners are virtual. Trustworthiness was shown to fully mediate the influence of trusting predisposition on trust. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Goals as a mediator of gender differences in high-affiliation dyadic conversations.

The present study examined whether gender differences in affiliative aspects (collaboration and cooperation) of dyadic conversations occur because girls are more oriented than boys toward goals focused on others. Preadolescents (11–13 years old; 51 boys, 53 girls) worked with a same- or an other-gender peer on a 4-week-long creative-writing task at school. Dyadic conversations and goals were assessed twice. High-affiliation conversations and mutual-participation goals were more prevalent in female than in male and mixed-gender dyads. Mutual-participation goals mediated gender differences in high-affiliation conversations. Control and task-performance goals did not differ by dyad gender. In mixed-gender dyads, conversation strategies and goals did not differ by gender. Implications of goals for understanding gender differences and similarities in conversations are discussed, (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feeling Better About Doing Worse: Social Comparisons Within Romantic Relationships.

The authors examined the role of closeness between self and partner in determining the impact of social comparisons within intimate relationships. To the extent that one's partner is a central aspect of one's identity, one may be able to restore one's positive self-regard following an upward comparison with the partner by turning to the relationship as a self-affirmational resource. Studies 1 and 2 examined reactions to imagined comparisons; Studies 3 and 4 examined reactions to actual comparison feedback. Across studies, closeness moderated the impact of upward comparisons with the partner; that is, higher closeness participants responded to a more successful partner by focusing on their relationship-related strengths. However, closeness did not moderate the impact of downward comparisons with the partner. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What's good for the goose may not be as good for the gander: The benefits of self-monitoring for men and women in task groups and dyadic conflicts.

The authors posit that women can rely on self-monitoring to overcome negative gender stereotypes in certain performance contexts. In a study of mixed-sex task groups, the authors found that female group members who were high self-monitors were considered more influential and more valuable contributors than women who were low self-monitors. Men benefited relatively less from self-monitoring behavior. In an experimental study of dyadic negotiations, the authors found that women who were high self-monitors performed better than women who were low self-monitors, particularly when they were negotiating over a fixed pool of resources, whereas men did not benefit as much from self-monitoring. Further analyses suggest that high self-monitoring women altered their behavior in these negotiations--when their partner behaved assertively, they increased their level of assertiveness, whereas men and low self-monitoring women did not alter their behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of talk in children's peer collaborations.

The role of talk in children's peer collaborations using a computer-based scientific reasoning task was investigated in this study. Seventy 4th-grade students were assigned to work alone or with a same-sex partner for 1 20-min session. Half of the children in each condition (alone and dyads) were asked to talk as they worked, and half were not. Significant performance differences between groups were present, although there were no significant differences in experimental activity. Talk dyads generated better hypotheses than no-talk alones and no-talk dyads, and talk alones did not generate better hypotheses than no-talk alones. Analyses of children's talk showed that talk dyads produced more talk overall and more interpretive types of talk than talk alones. The importance of peer collaborations as a social context that supports interpretive cognitive processes was discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical analysis of dyadic social behavior.

Describes a method for determining the effects of sex (or any other dichotomous characteristic) from the individual correlated behavioral responses observed in dyadic interactional situations. In the illustration used, the dyads are of 3 types: girl–girl, girl–boy, and boy–boy. Main effects of sex of S and of sex of partner and interaction effects are estimated and tested, using a generalization of the matched-pair t-test approach. Intragroup correlations between paired responses are examined separately. Alternative procedures of analysis are discussed and compared. The present method is extended to interacting groups larger than dyads when the S characteristic remains dichotomous (e.g., boys and girls in groups of 3, 4, etc). In these cases there are 3 intragroup correlations of interest for responses within the same interacting groups: boys vs boys, boys vs girls, and girls vs girls. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of methylphenidate and expectancy on performance, self-evaluations, persistence, and attributions on a social task in boys with ADHD.

This study examined the effects of 0.3 mg/kg methylphenidate (MPH) and expectancy regarding medication on the performance and persistence of 137 boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a get-acquainted dyadic interaction with a peer, using a balanced-placebo design. Boys in 4 groups—administered placebo or MPH crossed with being told they received placebo or MPH—interacted with child confederates in experimental situations in which social success and failure were manipulated. In contrast with studies of academic persistence, MPH did not affect boys' task persistence or performance. Boys gave more positive self-evaluations and talked more in the success condition as compared with the failure condition. Boys attributed success to effort and ability and failure to task difficulty, and neither MPH nor expectancy affected this pattern. These findings are consistent with other studies in failing to find debilitating effects of MPH or medication expectancies on ADHD boys' attributions or self-evaluations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dissolution of romantic relationships: Factors involved in relationship stability and emotional distress.

A large sample of individuals involved in ongoing dating relationships completed an extensive questionnaire survey that assessed 10 factors: satisfaction with the current partner, closeness of the relationship, duration of the relationship, sexual nature of the relationship, the quality of the best actual and imagined alternative dating partner(s), the ease with which a suitable alternative partner could be found, exclusivity of the relationship, self-monitoring propensity, and orientation to sexual relations. Approximately 3 months later, all individuals were recontacted to determine whether they were still dating the same partner and if not, how much emotional distress they experienced following relationship dissolution. Analyses revealed that at a univariate level, all 10 factors successfully forecasted relationship stability. Three of the 10 factors—closeness, duration, and ease of finding an alternative partner—reliably and independently predicted the intensity and duration of emotional distress. Specifically, individuals who were close to their former partner, who had dated the former partner for a long time, and who believed they could not easily acquire a desirable alternative tended to experience more pronounced distress following dissolution. These results are discussed in terms of the investment model and recent theorizing on emotion in relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When rejection stings: How self-esteem constrains relationship-enhancement processes.

Three experiments examined how needs for acceptance might constrain low versus high self-esteem people's capacity to protect their relationships in the face of difficulties. The authors led participants to believe that their partner perceived a problem in their relationship. They then measured perceptions of the partner's acceptance, partner enhancement, and closeness. Low but not high self-esteem participants read too much into problems, seeing them as a sign that their partner's affections and commitment might be waning. They then derogated their partner and reduced closeness. Being less sensitive to rejection, however, high self-esteem participants affirmed their partner in the face of the threat. Ironically, chronic needs for acceptance may result in low self-esteem people seeing signs of rejection where none exist, needlessly weakening attachments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)