Faith and unfaithfulness: Can praying for your partner reduce infidelity?

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 99(4) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2010-20570-001). The article contained an error in Table 2, in the third column table heading. The correct table heading is provided in the erratum.] Because religion and/or spirituality is integral to the lives of a majority of the world population, we conducted 3 studies on the role of prayer in romantic relationships. Study 1 (N = 375) showed that prayer for the partner predicted lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior over a 6-week period, over and beyond relationship satisfaction, and initial levels of extradyadic romantic behavior. In Study 2 (N = 83), we used an experimental design to show that participants assigned to pray for each day for 4 weeks engaged in lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior during that time, compared with those who engaged in daily positive thoughts about the partner or a neutral activity. Perception of the relationship as sacred mediated the relation between experimentally manipulated prayer and later infidelity. Study 3 (N = 23) showed that objective observers rated participants who had been praying for their partner for 4 weeks as more committed to their romantic relationship than control participants. The implications of these results are then discussed. Because religion and/or spirituality is integral to the lives of a majority of the world population, we conducted 3 studies on the role of prayer in romantic relationships. Study 1 (N = 375) showed that prayer for the partner predicted lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior over a 6-week period, over and beyond relationship satisfaction, and initial levels of extradyadic romantic behavior. In Study 2 (N = 83), we used an experimental design to show that participants assigned to pray for each day for 4 weeks engaged in lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior during that time, compared with those who engaged in daily positive thoughts about the partner or a neutral activity. Perception of the relationship as sacred mediated the relation between experimentally manipulated prayer and later infidelity. Study 3 (N = 23) showed that objective observers rated participants who had been praying for their partner for 4 weeks as more committed to their romantic relationship than control participants. The implications of these results are then discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment working models and cognitive openness in close relationships: A test of chronic and temporary accessibility effects.

In 3 studies the authors explored the impact of chronic and temporary accessibility of attachment working models on cognitive openness in the realm of close relationships. In Study 1, participants rated their attachment style and perceptions of their romantic partner. In Study 2, they recalled a relationship defined by a particular attachment orientation and rated perceptions of the targeted partner. Study 3 was similar to Study 1, but secure attachment was primed for half of the participants. In all the studies, cognitive openness was assessed by changes in the perception of the partner after being exposed to information that disconfirmed expectations. Secure attachment was related to higher cognitive openness and better recall of expectation-incongruent information, mainly when this information was positively valued. The discussion emphasizes the implications of the chronic and contextual aspects of attachment working models for information processing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Filipino personality structure and the big five model: a lexical approach

In lexically based studies, we derived Filipino personality dimensions and related them to the Big Five model. In Study 1, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 629) rated themselves on a near-comprehensive list of 861 Filipino (Tagalog) trait adjectives. In Study 2, Filipino high-school and college students (N = 1,531) rated 280 markers of dimensions identified in Study 1. Some students (n = 473) also completed the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Seven comparable Filipino dimensions were identified in factor analyses in the two studies. We concluded that the dimensions we labeled Concern for Others (vs. Egotism), Conscientiousness, Gregariousness, and Intellect were quite similar to Big Five Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Intellect, respectively. The Filipino Self-Assurance dimension was most similar to Big Five Neuroticism. The Filipino Temperamentalness dimension was more complex in Big Five terms, overlapping Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism. A final Filipino factor resembled a Negative Valence or Infrequency dimension. More than five factors had to be extracted to obtain Philippine dimensions resembling all of the Big Five.     

Attachment and the experience and expression of emotions in romantic relationships: A developmental perspective.

In this longitudinal study, the authors tested a developmental hypothesis derived from attachment theory and recent empirical findings. Target participants were 78 individuals who have been studied intensively from infancy into their mid-20s. When targets were 20-23 years old, the authors tested the way in which interpersonal experiences at 3 pivotal points in each target's earlier social development--infancy/early childhood, early elementary school, and adolescence--predicted the pattern of positive versus negative emotions experienced with his or her romantic partner. A double-mediation model revealed that targets classified as securely attached at 12 months old were rated as more socially competent during early elementary school by their teachers. Targets' social competence, in turn, forecasted their having more secure relationships with close friends at age 16, which in turn predicted more positive daily emotional experiences in their adult romantic relationships (both self- and partner-reported) and less negative affect in conflict resolution and collaborative tasks with their romantic partners (rated by observers). These results are discussed in terms of attachment theory and how antecedent life experiences may indirectly shape events in current relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assertiveness expectancies: How hard people push depends on the consequences they predict.

The present article seeks to explain varying levels of assertiveness in interpersonal conflict and negotiations with assertiveness expectancies, idiosyncratic predictions people make about the social and instrumental consequences of assertive behavior. This account complements motivation-based models of assertiveness and competitiveness, suggesting that individuals may possess the same social values (e.g., concern for relationships) but show dramatically different assertiveness due to different assumptions about behavioral consequences. Results clarify the form of assertiveness expectancies, namely that most people assume increasing assertiveness can yield positive social and instrumental benefits up to a point, beyond which benefits decline. However, people vary in how assertive this perceived optimal point is. These individual differences in expectancies are linked in 4 studies to assertiveness, including self-reported assertiveness, rated behavioral preferences in assorted interpersonal conflict scenarios, partner ratings of participants' behavior in a face-to-face dyadic negotiation, and work colleague ratings of participants' assertiveness in the workplace. In each case, the link between expectancies and behavior remained after controlling for values. The results suggest a place for expectancies alongside values in psychological models of interpersonal assertiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeking security or growth: A regulatory focus perspective on motivations in romantic relationships.

Using a multimethod approach, we examined how regulatory focus shapes people's perceptual, behavioral, and emotional responses in different situations in romantic relationships. We first examined how chronic regulatory focus affects romantic partners' support perceptions and problem-solving behaviors while they were engaged in a conflict resolution discussion (Study 1). Next, we experimentally manipulated regulatory focus and tested its effects on partner perceptions when individuals recalled a prior conflict resolution discussion (Study 2). We then examined how chronic regulatory focus influences individuals' emotional responses to hypothetical relationship events (Study 3) and identified specific partner behaviors to which people should respond with regulatory goal-congruent emotions (Study 4). Strongly prevention-focused people perceived their partners as more distancing and less supportive during conflict (Studies 1 and 2), approached conflict resolution by discussing the details related to the conflict (Study 1), and experienced a negative relationship outcome with more agitation (Study 3). Strongly promotion-focused people perceived their partners as more supportive and less distancing (Studies 1 and 2), displayed more creative conflict resolution behavior (Study 1), and experienced a negative relationship outcome with more sadness and a favorable outcome with more positive emotions (Study 3). In Study 4, recalling irresponsible and responsible partner behaviors was associated with experiencing more prevention-focused emotions, whereas recalling affectionate and neglectful partner behaviors was associated with more promotion-focused emotions. The findings show that regulatory focus and approach–avoidance motivations influence certain interpersonal processes in similar ways, but regulatory focus theory also generates novel predictions on which approach–avoidance models are silent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Faith and unfaithfulness: Can praying for your partner reduce infidelity?": Correction to Fincham, Lambert, and Beach (2010).

Reports an error in "Faith and unfaithfulness: Can praying for your partner reduce infidelity" by Frank D. Fincham, Nathaniel M. Lambert and Steven R. H. Beach (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, , , np). The article contained an error in Table 2, in the third column table heading. The correct table heading is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2010-16989-001.) Because religion and/or spirituality is integral to the lives of a majority of the world population, we conducted 3 studies on the role of prayer in romantic relationships. Study 1 (N = 375) showed that prayer for the partner predicted lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior over a 6-week period, over and beyond relationship satisfaction, and initial levels of extradyadic romantic behavior. In Study 2 (N = 83), we used an experimental design to show that participants assigned to pray for each day for 4 weeks engaged in lower levels of extradyadic romantic behavior during that time, compared with those who engaged in daily positive thoughts about the partner or a neutral activity. Perception of the relationship as sacred mediated the relation between experimentally manipulated prayer and later infidelity. Study 3 (N = 23) showed that objective observers rated participants who had been praying for their partner for 4 weeks as more committed to their romantic relationship than control participants. The implications of these results are then discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived threat and perceived neglect: Couples' underlying concerns during conflict.

The Couples Underlying Concern Inventory assesses 2 fundamental types of distress that couples experience during interpersonal conflict. Perceived threat involves a perception that one's partner is blaming and controlling the self. Perceived neglect involves a perception that one's partner is failing to make desired contributions or investments. Scales measuring these 2 underlying concerns were developed in Study 1, where a sample of 1,224 married people rated a pool of 57 words describing oneself and perceptions of a partner during a specific episode of conflict. Factor analysis identified 2 dimensions, and 2 brief 8-item scales were created. In Study 2, a sample of 2,315 married people completed the resulting 16-item inventory along with 10 self-report scales measuring types of emotion, cognition, and behavior during conflict. A 2-dimensional factor structure was confirmed, and measurement invariance was demonstrated across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Both perceived threat and perceived neglect correlated with relationship satisfaction and conflict communication. More importantly, each concern was associated with a different, and theoretically expected, set of variables regarding self emotion, emotion perceived in a partner, and cognition during conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality, emotional experience, and efforts to control emotions.

Three converging, multimethod studies examined personality and emotional processes. Study 1 (N?=?321) examined links among sex, personality, and expectations for emotional events. In Study 2, participants (N?=?468) described contents of emotionally evocative slides to a partner (either a friend or a stranger). Participants reported their emotional experience, efforts to control emotion, and the anticipated reactions of their partners. Structural modeling of self-report data and analyses of observational data indicated that Agreeableness and sex were significant predictors of emotional experience and of efforts to control emotion. Study 3 (N?=?68) replicated and extended the two previous studies using psychophysiological methods to examine responses to positively and negatively charged emotional materials. Outcomes are discussed in terms of processes underlying the five-factor structural dimension of Agreeableness and links to emotional self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working Models of Attachment Shape Perceptions of Social Support: Evidence From Experimental and Observational Studies.

Two studies examined the association between attachment style and perceptions of social support. Study 1 (N = 95 couples) used an experimental paradigm to manipulate social support in the context of a stressful task. Insecure participants (anxious and avoidant) who received low-support messages appraised these messages more negatively, rated a prior behavioral interaction with their partner as having been less supportive, and performed significantly worse at their task compared with secure participants. Study 2 (N = 153 couples) used a similar paradigm except that partners were allowed to send genuine support messages. Insecure participants (especially fearful) perceived their partners' messages as less supportive, even after controlling for independent ratings of the messages and relationship-specific expectations. These studies provide evidence that individuals are predisposed to appraise their support experiences in ways that are consistent with their chronic working models of attachment, especially when the support message is ambiguous. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Resolving interpersonal conflicts: An analysis of stylistic consistency.

In three experiments, we examined people's consistency in their styles of resolving interpersonal conflicts. In Experiment 1, 40 Yale undergraduates described recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a same-sex peer, an opposite-sex peer, and a parent, and their methods of resolving these conflicts. They then rated the extent to which each of seven styles of conflict resolution characterized their actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution. In Experiment 2, 40 Yale summer school subjects again described and rated their own methods for resolving recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a parent, a teacher, a roommate, and a romantic partner. They also rated styles of conflict resolution for hypothetical conflicts involving these same significant others. In Experiment 3, 40 Yale undergraduates rated actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution as they pertained to both sides of two real conflicts: one regarding a contract dispute between Yale University and Local 34, the union for clerical and technical workers, and the other between the United States and the Soviet Union over arms negotiations. Strong consistencies in styles of conflict resolution were observed within individuals across various interpersonal conflicts, and at the same time widespread differences were observed across individuals in preferred styles of conflict resolution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem and threats to self: Implications for self-construals and interpersonal perceptions.

In 4 studies, the authors examined interpersonal perceptions as a function of self-construals and ego threats for those with high and low self-esteem. Previous research (T. F. Heatherton & K. D. Vohs, 2000a) found that after threat, high self-esteem people were rated as less likable by an unacquainted dyad partner, whereas low self-esteem people were rated as more likable. Study 1 showed that after threat, high self-esteem people seek competency feedback, whereas low self-esteem people seek interpersonal feedback. Study 2 showed that high self-esteem people become more independent after threat, whereas low self-esteem people become more interdependent. Study 3 linked differences in independence versus interdependence to interpersonal evaluations. Study 4 found that differences in independent and interdependent self-construals statistically accounted for differences in likability and personality perceptions of high and low self-esteem people after threat. Thus, the combination of threat and self-esteem alters people's focus on different self-aspects, which consequently leads to different interpersonal appraisals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working models of attachment: implications for explanation, emotion and behavior

Two studies examined attachment style differences in social perception. In Study 1, participants wrote open-ended explanations for hypothetical relationship events and described how they would feel and behave in response to each event. Compared with secure participants, preoccupied participants explained events in more negative ways; they also reported more emotional distress and behaviors that were likely to lead to conflict. Avoidant participants also provided negative explanations, but did not report emotional distress. Path analysis indicated that attachment style differences in behavior were mediated by explanation patterns and emotional distress. Study 2 was designed to replicate Study 1 and test the relative importance of attachment style and relationship quality to predicting each outcome. Results indicated that both variables were significant predictors of explanations, but only attachment style predicted emotional responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that adults with different working models of attachment are predisposed to think, feel, and behave differently in their relationships.     

Metaperceptions of bias in intimate relationships.

Meta-awareness of bias in intimate partner judgments was investigated in 3 studies. In Study 1, participants rated fictional partners in happier relationships as more positively biased in their partner perceptions. In Study 2, participants thought their judgments of their own current partners were positively biased and that they were judged by their partners in a positively biased fashion. Using a sample of couples, Study 3 showed that metaperceptions of bias were anchored to actual levels of bias at the individual and relationship levels. In addition, positive bias was accentuated for traits that were more relevant to mate evaluation. These findings (as expected) suggest that positive bias in partner judgments can be a normative and consciously accessible feature of intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Five domains of interpersonal competence in peer relationships.

In three studies we investigated the utility of distinguishing among different domains of interpersonal competence in college students' peer relationships. In Study 1 we developed a questionnaire to assess five dimensions of competence: initiating relationships, self-disclosure, asserting displeasure with others' actions, providing emotional support, and managing interpersonal conflicts. Initial validation evidence was gathered. We found that self-perceptions of competence varied as a function of sex of subject, sex of interaction partner, and competence domain. In Study 2 we found moderate levels of agreement between ratings of competence by subjects and their roommates. Interpersonal competence scores were also related in predictable ways to subject and roommate reports of masculinity and femininity, social self-esteem, loneliness, and social desirability. In Study 3 we obtained ratings of subjects' competence from their close friends and new acquaintances. Relationship satisfaction among new acquaintances was predicted best by initiation competence, whereas satisfaction in friendships was most strongly related to emotional support competence. The findings provide strong evidence of the usefulness of distinguishing among domains of interpersonal competence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being.

Five studies tested two general hypotheses: Individuals differ in their use of emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal and suppression, and these individual differences have implications for affect, well-being, and social relationships. Study 1 presents new measures of the habitual use of reappraisal and suppression. Study 2 examines convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 shows that reappraisers experience and express greater positive emotion and lesser negative emotion, whereas suppressors experience and express lesser positive emotion, yet experience greater negative emotion. Study 4 indicates that using reappraisal is associated with better interpersonal functioning, whereas using suppression is associated with worse interpersonal functioning. Study 5 shows that using reappraisal is related positively to well-being, whereas using suppression is related negatively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Held in contempt: The psychological, interpersonal, and performance consequences of contempt in a work context.

Guided by a social function of emotions perspective, the authors examined a model of the psychological, interpersonal, and performance consequences of contempt in a series of 3 experiments that tested the outcomes of being a recipient of contempt in the work domain. In these experiments, participants engaged in a business strategy simulation with a virtual partner—a computer programmed to give contemptuous and other types of feedback. In Study 1, which examined the task performance and interpersonal outcomes of contempt, recipients of contempt had significantly better task performance but also significantly more interpersonal aggressiveness toward their virtual partners compared with recipients of failure, angry, or neutral feedback. Study 2 examined 3 psychological outcomes mediating the contempt–task performance/aggression relationship: self-esteem, returned feelings of contempt, and activation levels. Lowered levels of implicit self-esteem and greater levels of activation significantly mediated the relationship between receiving contempt and task performance, whereas the contempt–aggression relationship was mediated by lowered implicit self-esteem and increased feelings of returned contempt. Study 3 examined status as a moderator of these relationships. Low-status recipients had significantly better task performance than did equal-status recipients, who performed significantly better than did the high-status recipients of contempt. In addition, low-status recipients displayed significantly lower levels of aggression in response to contempt than did equal-status and high-status recipients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex, power, and influence tactics in intimate relationships.

Examined the influence of sex, sex-role orientation, structural power, and interpersonal dependence on the use of influence tactics in 75 homosexual couples, 62 lesbian couples, and 98 heterosexual couples. Ss rated the frequency of 24 influence tactics on a 9-point scale, from which 6 dimensions of influence tactics were identified: manipulation, supplication, bullying, autocracy, disengagement, and bargaining. Several patterns of the effect of interpersonal power on influence tactics were found: Positions of weakness increased the use of supplication and manipulation, both "weak" strategies. Positions of strength somewhat increased the likelihood of bullying and the use of autocratic tactics, both "strong" strategies. Patterns of bargaining and the use of disengagement were more complex and varied across couple types. Both sex and sex-role orientation had consistent effects on influence dynamics, but these effects were limited primarily to the use of weak tactics. These effects of sex do not appear to be mediated either by interpersonal dependence or by structural power. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interpersonal predictors of depression trajectories in women with HIV.

This article tests an interpersonal model of depression symptom trajectories tailored to the experiences of women with HIV. Specifically, the authors examined how bereavement, maternal role difficulty, HIV-related social isolation, and partner conflict predicted change in depressive symptoms over 5 years in 761 women with HIV, controlling for sociodemographic and clinical health factors. Of these interpersonal characteristics, partner conflict emerged as a robust predictor of change in depressive symptoms in growth curve and cross-lag models. Results highlight the need for interventions focusing on interpersonal issues, particularly intimate relationships, in women with HIV. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)