Taiwanese love styles and their association with self-esteem and relationship quality

This study is an examination of how Lee's (1973, 1977, 1988) love styles are related to Taiwanese attitudes toward romantic relationships. Traditional literature was explored to ascertain Chinese beliefs about love and customs surrounding courtships and marriage. Taiwanese students at the University of Texas completed the Love Attitudes Scale (C. Hendrick & S. Hendrick, 1990), a measure of Lee's love styles. Six factors were extracted, using a principle components analysis, that were similar in many ways to the love styles derived from American samples, but that reflected Chinese beliefs and attitudes. The relationships of Taiwanese love styles to self-esteem and relationship quality (i.e., satisfaction, the probability of breaking up, and the number of conflicts experienced in a month) suggested the significance of Chinese traditions as well as current social changes in Taiwan.     

Emotional communication in close relationships.

Investigated emotional communication patterns characterizing interactions between partners in close relationships by asking 29 couples who were married or living together to engage in a videotaped discussion of a problem they were having in their relationship. In a later session, partners identified specific communications that they believed had an important influence on the discussion and then rated the communications in terms of the feelings the communicator intended to convey and the recipient's reaction. All Ss attempted to reciprocate both the positive and negative feelings that they perceived their partner to express toward them; however, only negative feelings were actually reciprocated. This was because Ss were sensitive to differences in the negative feelings their partners reported expressing and interpreted those feelings correctly, but they were inaccurate in perceiving their partners' expressions of positive feelings. Men interpreted their partners' failures to express love as an indication of hostility, whereas women interpreted their partners' lack of hostility as an indication of love. Results were conceptualized in terms of a general model of emotional communication. Parameters of the model pertaining to the hostility of partners' communications were often related to women's satisfaction with their relationship and their beliefs about relationships in general. However, they were unrelated to men's satisfaction and general beliefs, suggesting that women are generally more adversely affected by overt expressions of hostility than are men. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A theory and method of love.

Previous work by the authors and colleagues (1984) extended J. A. Lee's (1973/1976) theory of 6 basic love styles: eros (passionate love); ludus (game-playing love); storge (friendship love); pragma (logical, "shopping list" love); mania (possessive, dependent love); and agape (all-giving, selfless love). In Study 1, 807 undergraduates completed a 42-item rating questionnaire, with 7 items measuring each of the love styles. Six love style scales emerged clearly from factor analysis. Internal reliability was shown for each scale, and the scales had low intercorrelations with each other. Significant relationships were found between love attitudes and several background variables, including gender, ethnicity, previous love experiences, current love status, and self-esteem. Study 2, with 567 Ss, replicated the factor structure, factor loadings, and reliability analyses of the 1st study. The significant relationships between love attitudes and gender, previous love experiences, current love status, and self-esteem were also consistent with the results of Study 1. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attachment style and relationship satisfaction: Test of a self-disclosure explanation.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 30(2) of Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement (see record 2009-19933-001). Some figures were inadvertently omitted in two tables. The correct tables are provided in the erratum.] Explored a self-disclosure explanation for why those with a secure attachment style report greater relationship satisfaction than those with insecure attachment styles. Ss were 99 17–36 yr old students who were in ongoing relationships and who had different attachment styles. Ss were compared in terms of the self-disclosures they directed toward their partner vs a stranger, using questionnaire and behavioural measures. Behavioural self-disclosure was assessed by having Ss give talks on different topics, while anticipating that either their current partner or an opposite-sex stranger would later hear it. Results show that Ss with a secure attachment style disclosed more intimately to their partners than to strangers; whereas those with insecure attachment styles did not. Moreover, secures disclosed more personal facts to their partners than to strangers and were also perceived as more comfortable while self-disclosing to partners than to strangers. Finally, support for the hypothesis that self-disclosure mediates the relation between attachment style and relationship satisfaction was found on one component of self-disclosure, facilitative disclosure, a component which included both reported self-disclosure to one's partner and self-rated ability to elicit disclosure from others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does self-love lead to love for others?: A story of narcissistic game playing.

Five studies investigated the links among narcissism, self-esteem, and love. Across all studies, narcissism was associated primarily with a game-playing love style. This link was found in reports of general love styles (Study 1a) and of love in ongoing romantic relationships (Studies 1b-3, 5). Narcissists' game-playing love style was the result of a need for power and autonomy (Study 2) and was linked with greater relationship alternatives and lesser commitment (Study 3). Finally, narcissists' self-reports of game playing were confirmed by their partners in past and current relationships (Studies 4, 5). In contrast, self-esteem was negatively linked to manic love and positively linked to passionate love across studies. Implications for the understanding of narcissism in relationships are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptions of prose coherence: Individual differences in epistemological standards.

Examined the relationship between beliefs about the nature of knowledge and conceptions of prose coherence by administering self-reports to 89 undergraduates. Four conceptions of coherence were identified. Two of these conceptions (informativeness and grouping) were categorized as immature because they did not provide a basis for evaluating the quality of the relationships among the various parts of a term paper. The 2 remaining conceptions (sequencing and unity) were categorized as mature because they did provide such a basis. Results show that Ss classified as having relativistic (context-oriented) beliefs about the nature of knowledge were more likely to report mature coherence conceptions than were Ss classified as having dualistic (fact-oriented) beliefs. In addition, Ss who reported mature coherence conceptions produced essays that were judged by 2 writing instructors to be more coherent than the essays of Ss who reported immature conceptions. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult attachment, working models, and relationship quality in dating couples.

Three studies examined correlates of adult attachment. In Study 1, a scale to measure adult attachment style dimensions (ASDs) was developed based on C. Hazan and P. Shaver's (see record 1987-21950-001) categorical measure. Factor analyses revealed 3 dimensions underlying this measure: the extent to which an individual (1) is comfortable with closeness, (2) feels he or she can depend on others, and (3) is anxious or fearful about such things as being abandoned or unloved. Study 2 explored the relation between ASDs and working models of self and others. ASDs were related to self-esteem, expressiveness, instrumentality, trust in others, beliefs about human nature, and styles of loving. Study 3 explored the role of ASDs in 3 aspects of ongoing dating relationships: partner matching on ASDs; similarity between the attachment of one's partner and caregiving style of one's parents; and relationship quality. Evidence was obtained for partner matching and for similarity between one's partner and one's parents, particularly the opposite-sex parent. ASDs were related to how each partner perceived the relationship. For women, Dimension 1 was the best predictor of relationship quality; and the best predictor for men was Dimension 3. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Attachment style and relationship satisfaction: Test of a self-disclosure explanation": Erratum.

Reports an error in "Attachment style and relationship satisfaction: Test of a self-disclosure explanation" by J. Patrick R. Keelan, Karen K. Dion and Kenneth L. Dion (Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 1998[Jan], Vol 30[1], 24-35). Some figures were inadvertently omitted in two tables. The correct tables are provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1998-01141-003.) Explored a self-disclosure explanation for why those with a secure attachment style report greater relationship satisfaction than those with insecure attachment styles. Ss were 99 17–36 yr old students who were in ongoing relationships and who had different attachment styles. Ss were compared in terms of the self-disclosures they directed toward their partner vs a stranger, using questionnaire and behavioural measures. Behavioural self-disclosure was assessed by having Ss give talks on different topics, while anticipating that either their current partner or an opposite-sex stranger would later hear it. Results show that Ss with a secure attachment style disclosed more intimately to their partners than to strangers; whereas those with insecure attachment styles did not. Moreover, secures disclosed more personal facts to their partners than to strangers and were also perceived as more comfortable while self-disclosing to partners than to strangers. Finally, support for the hypothesis that self-disclosure mediates the relation between attachment style and relationship satisfaction was found on one component of self-disclosure, facilitative disclosure, a component which included both reported self-disclosure to one's partner and self-rated ability to elicit disclosure from others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Blood glucose symptom beliefs of diabetic patients: Accuracy and implications.

Tested the accuracy of blood glucose (BG) symptom beliefs in 16 female and 10 male 16–64 yr old insulin-dependent diabetics. A within-Ss, repeated measures design was used to identify symptoms related to low and high BG levels for individual Ss. At the end of a year, Ss reported which symptoms they believed were related to their own low and high BG levels. Across Ss, the frequency of accurate beliefs (hits and correct rejections) was higher than the frequency of inaccurate beliefs (false alarms and misses). Female Ss' symptom beliefs yielded more hits, as well as more false alarms. Males missed more symptoms, especially low BG symptoms, than females. Symptom belief accuracy was greater if symptom–BG relationships remained stable across time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' theories about the development of their relationships with parents.

Assessed 100 undergraduates' developmental theories about their affective relationships with their parents, using a retrospective method. Ss used drawings and questionnaire ratings to portray their relationships with parents at 5 points between infancy and the present. From infancy to their current age, Ss portrayed their relationships in 2 major ways: They perceived themselves as gaining in responsibility, dominance, independence, and similarity from infancy to the present, whereas they portrayed their parents as experiencing a decline on these dimensions. For variables indicating closeness and love, however, there was a striking discontinuity in these linear trends: Although Ss perceived linear trends from infancy to adolescence, they depicted their current relationships as involving a great deal more love and closeness. They also portrayed their relationships with mothers and fathers somewhat differently. More responsibility was felt toward the mothers and they were portrayed as especially friendly, but Ss felt more similar to their fathers, whom they perceived as dominant. Results suggest that late adolescents construct theories of the affective components of their relationships with their parents to serve the needs of separation while maintaining a close affective tie to the parents. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of gender-role identity on women's self-esteem, lifestyle satisfaction and conflict.

541 female college students were screened on the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Ss scoring in the "feminine"/traditional (TD) or "masculine"/nontraditional (NNT) categories on both tests provided data on their self-esteem, lifestyle satisfaction, and anxiety/conflict over their TD/NNT life choices. TD Ss scored significantly lower on self-esteem and lifestyle satisfaction and higher on anxiety/conflict. Results were interpreted in terms of the differential (i.e., higher) social value attributed to masculine/NNT vs feminine/TD traits and behaviors. Furthermore, the value of intrinsic rewards that accrue to women who lead their lives according to their own preferences and beliefs, regardless of social costs, was explored. Demographically, in comparison to the TD Ss, the NNT Ss were older and were more likely to be married. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process.

This article explores the possibility that romantic love is an attachment process—a biosocial process by which affectional bonds are formed between adult lovers, just as affectional bonds are formed earlier in life between human infants and their parents. Key components of attachment theory, developed by Bowlby, Ainsworth, and others to explain the develoment of affectional bonds in infancy, were translated into terms appropriate to adult romantic love. The translation centered on the three major styles of attachment in infancy—secure, avoidant, and anxious/ambivalent—and on the notion that continuity of relationship style is due in part to mental models (Bowlby's "inner working models") of self and social life. These models, and hence a person's attachment style, are seen as determined in part by childhood relationships with parents. Two questionnaire studies indicated that (a) relative prevalence of the three attachment styles is roughly the same in adulthood as in infancy, (b) the three kinds of adults differ predictably in the way they experience romantic love, and (c) attachment style is related in theoretically meaningful ways to mental models of self and social relationships and to relationship experiences with parents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of disability claimants' coping styles on judgments of pain, disability, and compensation: A vignette study.

Because insurance adjusters' decisions about whether to grant compensation to disability claimants are often based on subjective criteria, such decisions may be susceptible to the influence of factors irrelevant to the claimant's disabling condition. This study examined whether judgments about compensation claimants are affected by the claimants' way of coping with pain and by claimant sex. Ss were 200 undergraduates. Ss made judgments about vignettes describing fictitious compensation claimants with differing strategies of coping with pain. The main analytic approach involved a multivariate ANOVA with 5 within-subject factors (i.e., coping style described in each of 5 vignettes) and 2 between-subject factors (i.e., sex of claimant described in the vignettes). Coping style was significantly related to perceptions of pain severity and disability and to beliefs about whether compensation should be awarded. Claimants who were described as engaging in catastrophizing or in praying and hoping were more likely than other claimants to be perceived as disabled and as deserving compensation for their injuries. Decisions about disability compensation could be influenced by claimant coping styles… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological impacts of sexual contact between therapists or other health care practitioners and their clients.

14 females who had had sexual contact with their therapists/psychiatrists (Group 1), 7 females who had had sexual contact with their health care practitioners (principally physicians [Group 2]), and 10 females who had received counseling services but had not engaged in sexual contact with therapists (Group 3) were compared by administering a questionnaire on self-esteem, depression, attitudes, beliefs about sexual contact, emotional effects of treatment, sexual attitudes, and psychosomatic and psychological symptoms. In addition, data were obtained from Ss, who were primarily aged 26–45 yrs, on (1) history of sexual victimization, (2) marital status of therapist/physician, (3) who initiated sexual contact, and (4) frequency of sexual contact. Results show that Ss in Group 1 had greater mistrust of and anger toward males and therapists and a greater number of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms following the cessation of therapy than did Ss in Group 3. Ss in Groups 1 and 2 did not differ in psychological impacts. Severity of impacts were significantly related to the magnitude of psychological and psychosomatic symptoms prior to treatment, prior sexual victimization, and the marital status of the therapist or health practitioner. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship between self-esteem and response style.

Response preferences of 30 high, 30 middle, and 30 low self-esteem undergraduate Ss on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) were analyzed to examine relationships between sex, self-esteem, and response style. Based on discriminant analyses, significant results indicated that like and dislike preferences discriminated between self-esteem groups but not between sex groups. Ss of high and middle self-esteem groups responded more often with like preferences, while Ss of the low self-esteem group responded more often with dislike preferences across all sections of the SCII. Inspection of the Your Characteristics section revealed that high and middle self-esteem Ss attributed strengths to themselves more frequently than did low self-esteem Ss. Two-way ANOVAs of Ss' profile scores revealed significant self-esteem effects but not significant sex and interaction effects. Compared with test profiles of low self-esteem Ss, test profiles of high and middle self-esteem Ss exhibited greater differentiation and provided more helpful information regarding particular interests and occupational areas for further vocational exploration. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of variables from a social-developmental model to explain physical and psychological dating violence.

Examined individual difference variables derived from a social-developmental perspective to help explain physical and psychological violence in dating relationships. 110 male and 225 female Ss (aged 25 yrs and older) completed measures of physical and psychological violence, self-esteem, personal power, peer relations, romantic love, and dominance. Self-esteem, personal power and peer relations were variables from the social-developmental model that, with dominance, predicted dating violence. Males were more likely to report receiving violence, females more likely to report inflicting violence. Those participants reporting bidirectional physical violence, both receiving and inflicting physical violence, experienced the most frequent physical and psychological violence. The implications of these findings for understanding the origins and the context of dating violence are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem and counterfactual thinking.

Two studies examined the relation between self-esteem and counterfactual thinking (consideration of "might-have-been" alternatives to reality). Ss imagined themselves in scenarios with another actor that resulted in either success or failure. Ss then "undid" the outcome by altering events that preceded the outcome. Following success, high self-esteem (HSE) Ss were more likely than low self-esteem (LSE) Ss to mutate their own actions. Following failure, LSE Ss were more likely than HSE Ss to mutate their own actions. Also, the structure of counterfactuals was influenced by outcome valence but not by self-esteem: Subtractive structures (in which antecedents are removed) were elicited by success, whereas additive structures (in which antecedents are added) were elicited by failure. The importance of the self and individual differences in self-esteem to counterfactual thinking is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic jealousy and adult romantic attachment

Research on romantic jealousy is consistent with the idea that jealousy is, at least in part, the product of threats to attachment relationships. Attachment theory was used as a framework for examining individual differences in the ways in which people experience and express jealousy. Emotional, behavioral, and cognitive concomitants of romantic jealousy were related to differences in attachment style in ways consistent with attachment theory. For example, anxious participants were relatively more likely than others to resist expressing their anger, avoidant participants were especially likely to turn their anger and blame against the interloper, and securely attached participants were especially likely to express anger toward the partner and to maintain their relationship. Differences in attachment style, not just differences in level of security, are predictive of qualitative individual differences in jealousy experiences.     

Attachment style and affect regulation: Relationships with health behavior and family experiences of illness in a student sample.

Questionnaire measures of attachment style and health behavior were completed by 287 university students on 2 occasions, 10 wks apart. At Time 1, Ss also provided reports of emotionality and early family experiences of illness. Reports of early family illness showed theoretically meaningful relationships with attachment style. Symptom reporting was predicted most strongly by anxious/ambivalent attachment and negative emotionality, with the link between anxious/ambivalent attachment and symptom reporting partially mediated by negative emotionality. Visits to health professionals at Time 2 were directly related to reports of chronic illness in the family but inversely related to paternal illness and avoidant attachment, controlling for symptom reporting. The results are discussed in terms of theories of attachment and affect regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)