Projection of responsiveness to needs and the construction of satisfying communal relationships.

This research tested a social projection model of perceived partner responsiveness to needs. According to this model, people project their own care and supportiveness for a partner onto their perceptions of their partner's caring and supportiveness. In 2 dyadic marriage studies, participants' self-reported responsiveness to the needs of a spouse predicted perceptions of the spouse's responsiveness to the self more strongly than did the spouse's self-reported responsiveness. These projected perceptions of responsiveness, in turn, appeared to promote perceivers' relationship satisfaction. These effects were independent of individual differences in attachment, self-esteem, depression, and communal orientation. A daily-diary component suggested that people projected their own chronic responsiveness as well as their daily enacted support onto perceptions of the specific benefits received from their spouses. A 3rd study found that experimentally manipulated feelings of difficulty in recalling examples of own support provision reduced perceptions of partner responsiveness. Results suggest that projection of own responsiveness is an important determinant of perceived social support and is a means by which caring perceivers maintain satisfying and subjectively communal relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perception of situational consistency in behaviour: Assessing the actor-observer bias.

Differences in judgments of self and judgments of others in the perceived consistency of behaviour across situations are assessed. Using S-R Inventories, judges made ratings on a number of modes of response to a variety of situations regarding two behaviours, anxiety and hostility. After Jones and Nisbett (1971), it was predicted that self-judgments would show less consistency over situations than judgments of others. Two comparisons were made both involving two different analyses. In Study I the same person was rated by three judges (self, friend, and acquaintance); in Study II one judge rated two different target persons (self and friend). In the major analysis, consistency of behaviour was defined in terms of intrasubject correlations across situations. In a second, supplementary analysis, consistency was described in terms of differences (rather than relationships) between situations. A variance components analysis was applied to each set of data. For the most part, the results were as predicted. A further distinction was noted between judgments of a target by friend and by acquaintance, with acquaintances perceiving greater consistency of behaviour across situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Caution: Fragile! Regulating the interpersonal security of chronically insecure partners.

The authors present and test a model of interpersonal insecurity compensation. According to this model, perceivers detect targets' chronic insecurities about interpersonal acceptance, become vigilant about upsetting targets, and respond with affective exaggeration, which involves cautiously inflating positive thoughts and feelings about targets and concealing negative sentiments. Results of 3 studies support this model across a variety of relationship types. Perceivers who detected targets' chronic insecurities concealed negative sentiments when they believed their sentiments would be observed by targets (Study 1), converged with other perceivers in their self-reported affective exaggeration to insecure targets (Study 2), and reported vigilance about upsetting targets, which predicted perceivers' enhanced cognitive processing of targets' daily insecurity and intensified their tendencies to exaggerate affections in response to that insecurity (Study 3). Perceivers' affective exaggeration appeared to enhance chronically insecure targets' perceptions of being valued by perceivers, but it also predicted perceivers' reduced relationship satisfaction (Studies 2 and 3). Results underscore the active, but perhaps dissatisfying, regulation of relationships with chronically insecure relationship partners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Allocentrism and Friendship Satisfaction: The Mediating Roles of Disclosure and Closeness.

Based on interdependence theory and the interpersonal process model of intimacy, individuals' personal attributes, perceptions, cognitions, and affect should influence relationship expectations. Self-disclosure is one form of behavioural interdependence and includes perceptions of the partner's disclosure. These behaviours (own disclosure) and perceptions (perceived partner's disclosure) should impact cognitions about the self and partner (cognitive closeness) and affect about the relationship (satisfaction). Personal attributes also determine how people react. Allocentrism, one personal attribute, refers to an individual's orientation involving emotional ties and dependence on others. A study involving cross-sex friendships tested whether allocentrism predicted own disclosure, own disclosure predicted perceived friend's disclosure, which predicted closeness, and finally closeness predicted satisfaction. A series of hierarchical regressions supported these relations and accounted for 23% of the variance in satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction.

The present research examined how implicit racial associations and explicit racial attitudes of Whites relate to behaviors and impressions in interracial interactions. Specifically, the authors examined how response latency and self-report measures predicted bias and perceptions of bias in verbal and nonverbal behavior exhibited by Whites while they interacted with a Black partner. As predicted, Whites' self-reported racial attitudes significantly predicted bias in their verbal behavior to Black relative to White confederates. Furthermore, these explicit attitudes predicted how much friendlier Whites felt that they behaved toward White than Black partners. In contrast, the response latency measure significantly predicted Whites' nonverbal friendliness and the extent to which the confederates and observers perceived bias in the participants' friendliness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the impact of cross-group friendship on interactions with novel outgroup members.

We examined the cognitive processes that might account for the impact of cross-group friendship on novel intergroup situations. Study 1 demonstrated that closeness with outgroup members predicts an association of the outgroup with the self, both in terms of the group itself and the personality traits stereotypically associated with the group. In Studies 2 and 3, we manipulated the accessibility of either a same-group friendship or cross-group friendship. Participants who described a cross-group friend exhibited a greater association of the friend's ethnicity with the self, and this association mediated the effects of friendship accessibility on positive expectations for intergroup contact (Study 2) and adaptive hormonal responses during a real interaction with a novel outgroup member (Study 3). These findings imply that cross-group friendship improves novel intergroup experiences to the degree that outgroups become associated with the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some affective consequences of social comparison and reflection processes: The pain and pleasure of being close.

A self-evaluation maintenance (SEM) model of social behavior was described. According to the comparison process, when another outperforms the self on a task high in relevance to the self, the closer the other the greater the threat to self-evaluation. According to the reflection process, when another outperforms the self on a task low in relevance to the self, the closer the other the greater the promise of augmentation to self-evaluation. Affect was assumed to reflect threats and promises to self-evaluation. In 3 studies, Ss were given feedback about own performance and the performance of a close (friend) and distant (stranger) other on tasks that were either low in self-relevance (Study 2) or that varied in self-relevance (Studies 1 and 3). In Study 1 (N?=?31), being outperformed by a close other resulted in greater arousal than being outperformed by a distant other. In Study 2 (N?=?30), results indicate that when relevance was low, more positive affect was associated with a friend's outperforming the self than either a friend's performing at a level equal to the self or being outperformed by a stranger. In Study 3 (N?=?31), pleasantness of expression was an interactive function of relevance of task, relative performance, and closeness of comparison other. All 3 studies are interpreted as being generally consistent with the SEM model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's knowledge of a best friend: Fact or fancy?

40 4th and 8th graders were questioned about a best friend's personality (e.g., what the friend worries about), the friend's preferences (e.g., favorite sports), and other characteristics that were more external to the friend (e.g., the friend's birthdate). Accuracy of knowledge was determined by comparing Ss' responses with their friend's self-reports. Also assessed were Ss' frequency of contact with the friend, their attraction to the friend, the duration of their friendship, and their cognitive level as judged by the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices. Results indicate that 8th graders knew more than 4th graders about a friend's personality characteristics and preferences, suggesting that the intimacy of best friendships increases with age. Cognitive level, frequency of contact, and the duration of a friendship predicted significant portions of the variance in external knowledge. Frequency of contact was the only significant predictor of intimate knowledge; cognitive level and attraction to the friend were marginally significant predictors. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Close partner as sculptor of the ideal self: Behavioral affirmation and the Michelangelo phenomenon.

This work incorporates concepts from the behavioral confirmation tradition, self tradition, and interdependence tradition to identify an interpersonal process termed the Michelangelo phenomenon. The Michelangelo phenomenon describes the means by which the self is shaped by a close partner's perceptions and behavior. Specifically, self movement toward the ideal self is described as a product of partner affirmation, or the degree to which a partner's perceptions of the self and behavior toward the self are congruent with the self s ideal. The results of 4 studies revealed strong associations between perceived partner affirmation and self movement toward the ideal self, using a variety of participant populations and measurement methods. In addition, perceived partner affirmation—particularly perceived partner behavioral affirmation—was strongly associated with quality of couple functioning and stability in ongoing relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Calibrating the sociometer: The relational contingencies of self-esteem.

A longitudinal daily diary study examined how chronic perceptions of a partner's regard for oneself might affect the day-to-day relational contingencies of self-esteem. Married partners each completed a diary for 21 days, and completed measures of satisfaction twice over the year. Multilevel analyses revealed that people who chronically felt more positively regarded compensated for one day's acute self-doubts by perceiving greater acceptance and love from their partner on subsequent days. In contrast, people who chronically felt less positively regarded by their partner internalized acute experiences of rejection, feeling worse about themselves on days after they feared their partner's disaffection. Over the year, such self-esteem sensitivity to rejection predicted declines in the partner' s satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhanced co-orientation in the perception of friends: A social relations analysis.

Newcomb's (1953) idea of co-orientation (interdependence between two persons' attitudes or perceptions) is used as a framework within which interpersonal perception between friends and acquaintances is examined. The principal question is whether co-orientation effects are stronger for friendship dyads than for acquaintance dyads. More specifically, the study examines the degree to which consensus, assimilation, self–other agreement, and assumed similarity differ. The social relations model is used to analyze a data set that included 16 living groups with 119 friend dyads and 1,668 acquaintance dyads. Results indicate that co-orientation effects are more pronounced in friendship dyads. The increment in co-orientation effects is largely due to similarities in the unique or idiosyncratic perceptions that people have of friendship pairs as well as the unique agreement about others that friends have with one another. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Walking on eggshells": How expressing relationship insecurities perpetuates them.

The authors present a model positing that when people are insecure about a relationship partner's acceptance, they often express emotional vulnerabilities to the partner, which causes them to believe the partner views them as highly vulnerable and insecure. In turn, this belief causes them to doubt the authenticity of the partner's expressions of positive regard, which may perpetuate the experience and expression of insecurity that initiated the process. Prototypes of interactions with interpersonally vulnerable individuals included partners' inauthentic expressions of regard (Study 1). Suggesting that these prototypes are applied to personal relationships when vulnerabilities are expressed, those who claimed to have expressed vulnerabilities doubted the partner's authenticity because they believed that they were viewed as vulnerable (Studies 2A, 2B, and 4). Authenticity doubts in turn predicted perceptions of rejection (Studies 3 and 4), which in turn predicted partner derogation and subsequent expressions of vulnerability (Study 4). An experimental manipulation of reflected appraisals of vulnerability increased doubts about the authenticity of a new acquaintance's expressions of emotion (Study 5). Relational insecurity may be perpetuated via the intrapersonal cognitive consequences of expressing it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An ecological analysis of peer influence on adolescent grade point average and drug use.

The interactive effects of peer behavior and adolescents' perceptions of authoritative parenting on GPA and drug use were examined. Two samples of 500 9th–11th graders participated in a 1-yr longitudinal study, and they and their friends provided reports of respective school grades and substance use. Changes in GPA and drug use are predicted by friend's grades and drug use. However, this effect is moderated by the adolescent's report of authoritative parenting. The positive impact of having a high-achieving friend is stronger among adolescents whose parents are relatively more authoritative. The deleterious impact of having a drug-using friend is stronger among adolescents whose parents are relatively less authoritative. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Record keeping in two types of relationships.

Three studies with 109 undergraduates tested the predictions that members of exchange relationships would keep track of individual inputs into joint tasks and members of communal relationships would not. In each study, Ss worked on a task with a partner with whom they (a) desired or had a communal relationship or (b) desired or had an exchange relationship. The task involved locating and circling number sequences in a large matrix. Whether Ss used a pen of the same or of a different color from that used by their partner served as the dependent measure. If partners worked with pens of the same color, individual inputs were obsured. If they worked with different color pens, individual inputs were clear. As predicted, in all 3 studies the proportion of Ss in the exchange conditions who chose a different color pen was significantly greater than 50% and was significantly greater than the proportion of Ss in the communal conditions who chose a different color pen. Also as expected, in no study was this percentage greater than 50% in the communal conditions. When Ss anticipated rather than had an existing communal relationship with the other (Study 1), the proportion of communal Ss choosing a different color pen was significantly lower than 50%. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of rats during pubertal development with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin alters both signaling kinase activities and epidermal growth factor receptor binding in the testis and the motility and acrosomal reaction of sperm

Children's (N = 58) perceptions of emotional support from mother and best friend were assessed at age 8. Perceptions of support from mother were predicted by attachment security at age 4, suggesting continuity in the children's internal working model of self in relation to mother. Preschool attachment security predicted age 8 perceptions of maternal support better than the mother's actual behavior at age 8. Identification of the best friend as a member of one's emotional support network was not related to security, but was positively related to social competence. However, among insecurely attached children, the greater the reliance on the best friend for emotional support, the greater the externalizing problems. Compensatory effects of best friend support on the social-emotional adaptation of insecurely attached children were not found.     

Trust, variability in relationship evaluations, and relationship processes.

Little is known about why some people experience greater temporal fluctuations of relationship perceptions over short periods of time, or how these fluctuations within individuals are associated with relational processes that can destabilize relationships. Two studies were conducted to address these questions. In Study 1, long-term dating partners completed a 14-day diary study that assessed each partner's daily partner and relationship perceptions. Following the diary phase, each couple was videotaped trying to resolve the most important unresolved problem from the diary period. As predicted, (a) individuals who trusted their partners less reported greater variability in perceptions of relationship quality across the diary period; (b) they also perceived daily relationship-based conflict as a relatively more negative experience; and (c) greater variability in relationship perceptions predicted greater self-reported distress, more negative behavior, and less positive behavior during a postdiary conflict resolution task (rated by observers). The diary results were conceptually replicated in Study 2a, in which older cohabiting couples completed a 21-day diary. These same participants also took part in a reaction-time decision-making study (Study 2b), which revealed that individuals tend to compartmentalize positive and negative features of their partners if they (individuals) experienced greater variability in relationship quality during the 21-day diary period and were involved in higher quality relationships. These findings advance researchers' understanding of trust in intimate relationships and provide some insight into how temporal fluctuations in relationship quality may undermine relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Friendship as a facilitator of emotional responsiveness and prosocial interventions among young children.

Examined the effects of friendship on children's emotional responsiveness to witnessing others' affective events. 41 children (aged 48–77 mo) watched puppet scenarios in which a target child was either a personal friend or an acquaintance. Children in the friendship condition were more likely to report sympathetic responses to the hypothetical plight of their friend; acquaintances were more likely to be unaffected by the dilemma. Children in the friendship condition also more readily proposed an intervention to alter the peer's negative state than did children in the acquaintance condition. The results demonstrate the importance of friendship for facilitating emotional responsiveness and prosocial interventions in young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)