bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social influence techniques during marital conflict
Authors: SAGRESTANO LYNDA M. , CHRISTENSEN ANDREW , HEAVEY CHRISTOPHER L.
Published: May 2005

The use of social influence techniques was examined in two studies of marital conflict. In each study, couples discussed two issues in counterbalanced order: one in which the husband wanted change and one in which the wife wanted change. Interactions were coded for the use of influence techniques. Evidence from both studies supported a social role explanation, such that roles based on who wanted change predicted the use of influence, whereas gender did not. Secondary hypotheses based on attribution theory and schema theory were also supported. When discussing areas in which they wanted change in partners, spouses made more partner attributions, were more likely to suggest change, and were more likely to explain their partners’behavior than when discussing areas in which their partners wanted change. However, they were more likely to ask questions to clarify the problem when discussing a change their partners wanted in them than when discussing a change they wanted. The importance of considering social structural variables such as social roles in examining conflict interactions is discussed.
The transition to uncertainty?: The impacts of Hong Kong 1997 on personal relationships
Authors: GOODWIN ROBIN , TANG CATHERINE
Published: May 2005

Despite considerable previous research into acculturation processes and family stress, we know little about how different groups of individuals or families respond to planned political changeswithin a cultureand the impact of their expectations on their daily relationships. This study examines the appraisals of 403 Hong Kong married individuals of the forthcoming handover of Hong Kong to China, the impact of these appraisals on relationship disagreements regarding the transition, and perceived changes in their relationships. Results suggest that negative (external) locus of control and pessimistic group norms are predictors of a threatening appraisal of the transition, and that this perceived threat was a significant predictor of perceived change in the couple's relationship. Age and education had direct impacts on perception of relationship change and intradyadic disagreements about the transition. Results are discussed in the light of the complex political and economic climate in the lead‐up to the handover of Hong Kong to China, as well as the broader literature on family stress, personal relationships, and social change.
Attachment‐style differences in the experience and expression of romantic jealousy
Authors: GUERRERO LAURA K.
Published: May 2005

According to attachment theory, the attachment system is activated to manage thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that stem from potential separation and relational threat. Thus, jealousy provides an important situation in which to examine attachment‐style differences. In the present study, 144 individuals currently involved in enduring romantic relationships completed questionnaires regarding their jealousy experience, jealousy expression, and attachment styles. Four major findings emerged. First, those with negative self‐models reported experiencing more cognitive jealousy than did those with positive self‐models Second, jealous individuals with negative other‐models reported feeling fear less intensely, using less relationship‐maintaining behavior, and engaging in more avoidance/denial than did those with positive other‐models. Third, preoccupieds reported displaying more negative affect and engaging in more surveillance behavior than did those with other attachment styles. Finally, dismissives reported feeling less fear than did secures and preoccupieds, and less sadness than preoccupieds, when experiencing jealousy. Attachment‐style dimensions, such as lack of confidence and preoccupation with relationships, were also associated with jealousy experience and expression. These results are interpreted in light of attachment‐theory principles.
Heterosexual romantic preferences: The importance of humor and physical attractiveness for different types of relationships
Authors: LUNDY DUANE E. , TAN JOSEPHINE , CUNNINGHAM MICHAEL R.
Published: May 2005

This study examined the effects of expressions of humor and physical attractiveness on desire for future interaction in various types of heterosexual relationships. Humor was manipulated using interview transcripts containing humorous self‐deprecating responses: physical attractiveness was manipulated using photographs. Men were found to emphasize physical attractiveness more than did women for dating, sexual intercourse, and a serious relationship. Consistent with the Social Transformation Model of Humor introduced in this article, individuals, particularly men, expressing humor were rated as more desirable than nonhumorous individuals for a serious relationship and marriage, but only when these individuals were physically attractive. Humorous individuals were perceived to be more cheerful but less intellectual than nonhumorous individuals. The Social Transformation Model appears to be a valuable way of looking at the interaction of humor and physical attractiveness. Directions for future research based on this model are discussed.
Attachment, partner choice, and perception of romantic partners: An experimental test of the attachment‐security hypothesis
Authors: CHAPPELL KELLEY D. , DAVIS KEITH E.
Published: May 2005

We propose that the primary attachment process that influences partner choice is a normative one, the desire to form a secure attachment bond, and that a potential partner's attractiveness is, in part, a function of the degree to which the partner can offer the opportunity to form a secure attachment bond. An experimental test of the attachment‐security hypothesis was conducted with male and female (N= 282) heterosexual college students in the southeastern United States who had previously been classified as having one of four attachment styles: secure, preoccupied, fearful, or dismissive. Participants read scenarios (derived from Pietromonaco & Carnelley, 1994) that depicted a relationship with an opposite‐sex partner who displayed one of the four attachment styles, rated their reactions to the relationship, and assessed the imaginary partner on 20 personality traits. Results provided support for the attachment‐security hypothesis in two ways: (a) secure partners elicited more positive and less negative emotions than all other partners, followed by preoccupied partners, who elicited more positive emotions than either avoidant type, and (b) for the explicit choice of romantic partners, secure partners were preferred to all insecure types, who did not differ from each other. Both preoccupied and dismissive participants saw partners similar to themselves as more secure than did the other participants.
The Investment Model Scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size
Authors: RUSBULT CARYL E. , MARTZ JOHN M. , AGNEW CHRISTOPHER R.
Published: May 2005

Three studies evaluated the reliability and validity of the Investment Model Scale, an instrument designed to measure four constructs, including commitment level and three bases of dependence–satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. In all three studies, reliability analyses revealed good internal consistency among items designed to measure each construct. Also, principal components analyses performed on scale items revealed evidence of four factors, with items designed to measure each construct loading on independent factors. Studies 2 and 3 examined associations of model variables with instruments measuring diverse qualities of relationships and assorted personal dispositions. As anticipated, Investment Model variables were moderately associated with other measures reflecting superior couple functioning (e.g., dyadic adjustment, trust level, inclusion of other in the self), and were essentially unrelated to measures assessing personal dispositions (e.g., need for cognition, self‐esteem). In addition, Study 3 demonstrated that earlier measures of Investment Model variables predicted later levels of dyadic adjustment and later relationship status (persisted vs. ended). It is hoped that the existence of a reliable and valid Investment Model Scale will promote further research regarding commitment and interdependence in ongoing close relationships.
Gender asymmetry in common couple violence
Authors: MILARDO ROBERT M.
Published: May 2005

In companion studies I examine the acceptability of two forms of “common couple violence” that vary in seventy. According to Johnson (1995), common couple violence is enacted equally by both men and women, is therefore gender symmetrical, and can be distinguished from patriarchal terrorism, which often includes frequent and systematic violence enacted by men in the control and domination of women. The 160 randomly selected respondents in Study 1 (representative of a midsize northeastern American university) were asked whether they would be likely to hit their partner, and whether they would expect to be hit, in any one of 10 situations common to a dating relationship. Contrary to the expectations of gender symmetry, 83% of the women indicated they would be at least somewhat likely to hit their partner in any one situation compared to 53% of the men. Men were also more likely to report expecting to be hit (70%) than women (50%). Interactions of gender with dating status or year in school cannot account for these findings: however, women and men differ in their motivations. Although most men enact violence for reasons similar to women—because they are angry or contused—a sizable minority of men invoke violence because of strong feelings like love or hate. Study 2 queried 97 randomly selected students about their willingness to use a more serious form of violence (i.e., beating up their partner). Findings were similar to Study 1 with one exception. In most instances, women report a greater expectation of being beaten.
Structural predictors of problematic friendship in later life
Authors: ADAMS REBECCA G. , BLIESZNER ROSEMARY
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the constraining and facilitating effects of social structural position (age, sex, race, class, financial sufficiency, and number of friends) on opportunities for friendship. We hypothesized that the greater the number of people who share a given social structural location and the more access they have to situations where it is possible to meet new people, the less likely they are to have problematic friendships. The sample comprised 53 male and female community residents aged 55 to 84 years who enjoyed fairly good health. Logistic and multiple regression procedures revealed outcomes opposite to our predictions: those who were supposedly more social structurally advantaged actually reported greater numbers of problematic friendships. Potential interpretations include the possibility that these people are more critical than others of their friend relationships or more willing to acknowledge problems, that the norms regarding commitment to friends are weaker among these individuals, or that they learn to acquire friends but not to avoid and solve problems in their relationships. Apparently, people with more friends are not more likely than others to terminate problematic friendships or to redefine them as mere associations.
Openness in processing social information among attachment types
Authors: GREEN‐HENNESSY SHARON , REIS HARRY T.
Published: May 2005

Previous empirical and theoretical work suggests differences among attachment types with regard to their openness in perceiving and organizing social information. To examine these hypothesized differences, participants were given two sets of information characterizing the same target person, one set depicting an insecurely attached person, the other portraying a securely attached person. Proposed differences in openness to incorporating new information, differentiation in cognitive representations of others, and recall were assessed. As hypothesized, avoidant individuals were less open to new information than were secure subjects, and they differentiated their representations less than did both secure and anxious‐ambivalent individuals. Moreover, as expected, there were no significant differences between secure and anxious‐ambivalent individuals on the dimensions of openness and differentiation. However, avoidant individuals did not evidence poorer recall of the stimulus material. Theoretical and clinical implications of avoidant individuals’relatively more rigid, simplistic models of others are explored.
Adult attachment, emotional control, and marital satisfaction
Authors: FEENEY JUDITH A.
Published: May 2005

This study extends previous research into the relations among attachment style, emotional experience, and emotional control. Questionnaire measures of these variables were completed by a broad sample of 238 married couples. Continuous measures of attachment showed that insecure attachment (low Comfort with closeness; high Anxiety over relationships) was related to greater control of emotion, regardless of whether the emotion was partner‐related or not. Insecure attachment was also associated with less frequent and intense positive emotion and with more frequent and intense negative emotion, although these links depended on context (partner‐related or not), attachment dimension, and gender. Emotional control added to the prediction of marital satisfaction, after controlling for attachment dimensions; the most robust links with satisfaction were inverse relations with own control of positive emotion and with partner's control of negative emotion. The results are discussed in terms of attachment theory, affect regulation, and communication in marriage.
Social control, social support, and companionship in older adults' family relationships and friendships
Authors: ROOK KAREN S. , ITUARTE PHILIP H.G.
Published: May 2005

Social control, social support, and companionship represent basic elements of many close relationships, yet we know relatively little about how these distinctive elements separately and jointly influence relationship quality. Control and support may have incompatible effects, with efforts by a family member or friend to influence a focal person's behavior undermining the sense of support in the relationship. We examined the implications of control, support, and companionship for the perceived quality of older adults’family relationships and friendships in a sample of 180 older adults. Analyses indicated that the participants’family members and friends were differentially involved in performing control, support, and companionship functions. In addition, perceived relationship quality appeared to be anchored in somewhat different functions for family members versus friends. The perceived quality of family ties was related to emotional support, companionship, and social control, whereas the perceived quality of ties with friends was related to emotional support, instrumental support, and companionship. Contrary to expectation, we found no evidence that social control detracted from perceived relationship quality or that social control interacted with social support in predicting relationship quality. The results help to extend existing knowledge of relationship specialization in later adulthood, and they underscore the usefulness of distinguishing social control, social support, and companionship.
Looking deeper: Extradyadic behaviors, jealousy, and perceived unfaithfulness in hypothetical dating relationships
Authors: YARAB PAUL E. , ALLGEIER ELIZABETH RICE , SENSIBAUGH CHRISTINE CREGAN
Published: May 2005

This report expands on past research dealing with extradyadic (ED) relations in dating relationships by examining behaviors beyond those of a strictly sexual or romantic nature that college‐age men and women consider to be unfaithful. Undergraduates (N= 219) from a U.S. university rated a hypothetical partner's ED sexual behavior, sexual fantasies, romantic attachments, flirting, group, and dyadic social activities including a member of the other gender outside the primary dating relationship as a function of relationship stage. Men and women rated all the ED behaviors as jealousy provoking except group social activities, and rated all the behaviors as unfaithful except dyadic and group social activities. Women reported greater jealousy than did men in response to a hypothetical partner's sexual fantasies, romantic attachments, and flirting behavior. Women also reported a hypothetical partner's romantic attachments and flirting behavior as more unfaithful than did men. Results are discussed in terms of support for evolutionary theory and the need to acknowledge environmental factors in examining gender differences.
Stay/leave decision‐making processes in abusive dating relationships
Authors: CHOICE PAMELA , LAMKE LEANNE K.
Published: May 2005

A multivariate causal model was tested to determine the extent to which two central questions, “Will I be better off” and “Can I do it?”, contribute to abused daters' stay/leave decision‐making processes. Participants completed questionnaires consisting of multiple measures of relationship satisfaction, alternatives, investments, subjective norm, personal resources and barriers, and structural resources and barriers. The first question and its indicators accounted for over 87% of the variance in participants’intention to stay in or leave their relationships. Results highlight three important avenues for future research: identifying both positive and negative aspects of abusive relationships, increased clarification of the commitment construct, and emphasis on further operationalizing the construct “Can 1 do it?”
Now and then, them and us, this and that: Studying relationships across time, partner, context, and person
Authors: GABLE SHELLY L. , REIS HARRY T.
Published: May 2005

Personal relationships are frequently studied using methods and analyses that reflect an interest in relationships as between‐persons phenomena. Although informative, there is much to be learned from examining relational phenomena from a within‐persons perspective. The present article reviews the application of within‐persons approaches to both the conceptualization and investigation of relational phenomena. The benefits of studying variation in psychologically meaningful constructs across multiple relationships, across different contexts within a relationship, and across time are outlined. Moreover, combinations of between‐ and within‐persons strategies that can examine how relational, contextual, and temporal variation differs across people are discussed. Methodological and statistical considerations important to such designs are also outlined, and their limitations are discussed.

There are more truths in twenty‐four hours of a man's life than in all the philosophies.

—Raoul Vaniegem (1967/1979)
The correlational analysis of dyad‐level data in the distinguishable case
Authors: GONZALEZ RICHARD , GRIFFIN DALE
Published: May 2005

Many theories of interpersonal relationships distinguish between individual‐level processes and dyadic or group‐level processes. This suggests that two‐person relationships should be studied at the level of the dyad as well as at the level of the individual. We discuss correlational methods for dyads when each dyad contains two different types of individuals (e.g., a husband and wife, a mother and child, or an expert and a novice). In such dyadic interaction designs, the dyad members are said to be distinguishable. We present a method for computing the overall correlation for distinguishable dyads, and we discuss a model for separating the dyad‐level and individual‐level components of such a correlation. The computational techniques and their interpretation are described using data from 98 heterosexual couples.
Family contexts as cognitive networks: A structural approach of family relationships
Authors: WIDMER ERIC D.
Published: May 2005

With the permanence of strong emotional bonds between adults and their siblings and parents, with the rise of divorce, with the extension of remarriage, and with the development of pseudo‐kinship ties, complex family groupings have emerged. Orientational family members (Kuhn, 1964) are likely to be perceived as being included in relatively large and unbounded family contexts. To deal with the complexity of those contexts, one needs to develop an approach that makes it possible to analyze many relationships in a single model. Such an approach is presented in this article, which considers family contexts as cognitive networks (Marsden, 1990). To illustrate how statistical and graphical network methods can be applied empirically to those contexts, perceived relationships among orientational family members of 25 female students were analyzed in relation to balance theory (Heider, 1958).
Difference score correlations in relationship research: A conceptual primer
Authors: GRIFFIN DALE , MURRAY SANDRA , GONZALEZ RICHARD
Published: May 2005

The practice of computing correlations between “difference” or “discrepancy” scores and an outcome variable is common in many areas of social science. Relationship researchers most commonly use difference scores to index the (dis)similarity of members of two‐person relationships. Using an intuitive, graphical approach—and avoiding formulas and pointing fingers—we illustrate problems with using difference score correlations in relationship research, suggest ways to ensure that difference score correlations are maximally informative, and briefly review alternatives to difference score correlations in studying similarity, accuracy, and related constructs.
Taxometric and related methods in relationships research
Authors: HASLAM NICK
Published: May 2005

Research on personal relationships inescapably uses taxonomies for classifying people, relationships, and interpersonal processes and events, and often develops new ones. However, constructing a good taxonomy is no simple matter. Many existing classification methods have serious weaknesses, and they carry the risk of drawing taxonomic distinctions that are spurious. In addition, researchers frequently make unwarranted assumptions about the nature of the taxonomic categories that they employ in their work. This article introduces a family of quantitative methods for testing and generating taxonomies. Although they have seen little use to date outside of psychopathology, personality psychology, and behavioral genetics, these methods are versatile and readily adapted to the domain of personal relationships, where they offer many research possibilities. Three of the methods are illustrated in a study of elementary forms of relationships.
Marital satisfaction and topographical assessment of marital interaction: A longitudinal analysis of newlywed couples
Authors: JOHNSON MATTHEW D. , BRADBURY THOMAS N.
Published: May 2005

Despite numerous tests of social learning hypotheses relating to marriage, important questions remain concerning how best to quantify behavior displayed in marital interaction. In the present study, 60 newlywed couples reported their marital satisfaction, engaged in a 15‐minute problem‐solving discussion, and reported their marital satisfaction again 6 and 12 months later. The interactions were microanalytically coded, the codes were assigned a numeric value, and each spouse's cumulative point totals were plotted as a function of time in the interaction. This was done separately for all 60 couples. Graphs were divided into groups based on the topography of the graphically represented interactions. These groups differed cross‐sectionally and longitudinally in their level of marital satisfaction. Couples tended to have lower satisfaction scores when their initial interactions were characterized with behavioral parity between the spouses at the beginning of a discussion, changing to asymmetrical patterns of behavior later in the conversation. This method was found to be more predictive of marital satisfaction than were standard methods of assessing dyadic interaction (i.e., base rates of behavior and sequential analysis). Implications of these data for understanding how interactions relate to the course of newlywed marriage are discussed.
Meta‐accuracy about potential relationship partners' models of others
Authors: CARNELLEY KATHERINE B. , RUSCHER JANET B. , SHAW SAMANTHA K.
Published: May 2005

We investigated whether people can determine which partners are best able to confirm their self‐views. Results suggest that people are able to determine the valence of a potential romantic partner's model of other (i.e., they are meta‐accurate). Previous research indicates that people expect to have their specific negative and positive self‐views confirmed by partners whose model of other matches the valence of their self‐view. In the present study, participants generally sought feedback that was congruent with a partner's model of other. However, men who held positive self‐views were not meta‐accurate; rather, they sought positive or negative feedback from partners regardless of the valence of the partner's model of other. These gender differences are discussed in terms of differential socialization patterns. Results suggest that people may choose relationship partners who are able to confirm their self‐views.
Gender differences in empathic accuracy: Differential ability or differential motivation?
Authors: ICKES WILLIAM , GESN PAUL R. , GRAHAM TIFFANY
Published: May 2005

Following their qualitative review of the findings from 10 relevant studies, Graham and Ickes (1997) speculated that reliable gender‐of‐perceiver differences in empathic accuracy (a) were limited to studies in which the empathic inference form made empathic accuracy salient as the dimension of interest, and (b) therefore reflected the differential motivation, rather than the differential ability, of female versus male perceivers. These speculations were tested more rigorously in the present study, which examined a larger set of 15 empathic accuracy studies and applied the techniques of quantitative meta‐analysis to test Graham and Ickes’(1997) moderating variable hypothesis. The hypothesis was strongly supported, consistent with a motivational interpretation previously proposed by Berman (1980) and by Eisenberg and Lemon (1983), which argues that reliable gender differences in empathy‐related measures are found only in situations in which (a) subjects are aware that they are being evaluated on an empathy‐relevant dimension, and/or (b) empathy‐relevant gender‐role expectations or obligations are made salient.
Behavior and on‐line cognition in marital interaction
Authors: FLETCHER GARTH J.O. , THOMAS GEOFF
Published: May 2005

This research examined the relations among various distal variables and interactive behavior and on‐line cognition in a complete longitudinal design over 1 year. Fifty‐seven married couples had problem‐solving discussions that were videotaped. Interactive behavior was coded by observers, and on‐line cognitions were assessed using a tape‐review procedure (see Fletcher & Fitness, 1990). As predicted, the association between relationship satisfaction and both interactive behavior and on‐line cognition was generally mediated by negative attributions to the partner; however, depression obtained direct unmediated paths to interactive behavior and on‐line cognition. Cross‐lagged analyses suggested that the causal links between distal variables and problem‐solving interactive behaviors and on‐line cognition tend to go in both directions over time. Implications are discussed.
Can men and women be just friends?
Authors: BLESKE APRIL L. , BUSS DAVID M.
Published: May 2005

We tested evolution‐based hypotheses about (1) sex differences in perceived benefits and costs of opposite‐sex friendship and (2) differences in perceived benefits of same‐sex friendships and opposite‐sex friendships. In the Preliminary Study (N= 400), an act nomination procedure was used to identify the benefits and costs of same‐sex friendships and opposite‐sex friendships. In Study 1, a total of 231 participants (100 men, 131 women) evaluated the frequency of occurrence of 100 benefits and costs in their closest same‐sex friendship or opposite‐sex friendship. In Study 2, a total of 229 participants (92 men, 137 women) evaluated how beneficial and how costly each would be if it were to occur in their closest same‐sex friendship or opposite‐sex friendship. Results supported several key hypotheses. Men perceived sex with their opposite‐sex friends as more beneficial than did women. Women reported receiving protection from their opposite‐sex friends more often than did men, and they perceived the protection as highly beneficial. Both men and women reported receiving information from opposite‐sex friends about how to attract mates, and they perceived this information as beneficial. The discussion focuses on whether these benefits reflect an evolved psychology of opposite‐sex friendship, or instead are incidental by‐products.
Don't interrupt! A good rule for marriage?
Authors: DAIGEN VAL , HOLMES JOHN G.
Published: May 2005

In a study investigating the relationship between conversational interrupting and marital satisfaction, 78 couples were videotaped while discussing a conflictual issue. Coders counted total interruptions and also categorized each interruption by its function: agreement, disagreement, clarification, or tangentialization. Agreement interruptions were positively correlated, and disagreement interruptions negatively correlated, with both the couple's affective response to the conversation and their concurrent marital satisfaction. Tangentialization (mocking) interruptions were not correlated with concurrent satisfaction, but husbands’tangentializations were correlated with a decline in couples’marital satisfaction over the 2 years following the conversation. Results are shown to be consistent with several features of marital interaction observed by researchers and clinicians, including the tendency of wives to pursue and of husbands to withdraw. It is hypothesized that tangentialization interruptions may be a specific withdrawal strategy. Overall, the results represent a challenge to the assumption that all interruptions have the same interpersonal meaning (e.g., dominance).
Distress about mating rivals
Authors: BUSS DAVID M. , SHACKELFORD TODD K. , CHOE JAE , BUUNK BRAM P. , DIJKSTRA PIETERNEL
Published: May 2005

This research tested the evolutionary psychological hypothesis that men and women would be most distressed about threats from rivals who surpass them on sex‐linked components of mate value. Six predictions were tested in samples from three cultures, the United States (N= 208), the Netherlands (N= 349), and Korea (N= 174). Five predictions were supported in all three cultures. Korean, Dutch, and American men, more than corresponding women, report greater distress when a rival surpasses them on financial prospects, job prospects, and physical strength. Korean, Dutch, and American women, in contrast, report greater distress when a rival surpasses them on facial and bodily attractiveness. The cultures differed on some variables. Korean women and men, for example, differed from Americans and Dutch in reporting more distress over rivals who had better financial prospects, better job prospects, and higher status and prestige. Americans exceeded Koreans in reporting distress when rivals had more attractive faces and bodies, whereas the Dutch exceeded the other cultures in reporting more distress when rivals had a better sense of humor. Discussion focuses on possible proximate psychological mechanisms underlying distress over rivals and the theoretical importance of intrasexual competition.
The division of labor in close relationships: An asymmetrical conflict issue
Authors: KLUWER ESTHER S. , HEESINK JOSE A. M. , VLIERT EVERT VAN DE
Published: May 2005

This research addresses couples’reports of their (hypothetical) attempts to maintain or change a gendered division of labor through conflict interactions. Two experiments in which spouses responded to scenarios showed that spouses reported more conflict over the division of housework than conflict over paid work and child care, and that wives more often than husbands desired a change in their spouses’contribution. Spouses reported more wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw than husband‐demand/wife‐withdraw interaction during hypothetical conflict over the division of labor, but only when the wife desired a change in her spouse's contribution. Together, the data imply that wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw interaction is a likely response to the asymmetrically structured conflict situation in which the wife is discontent with her husband's contribution to housework, while her husband wants to maintain the status quo. We further showed that defenders of the status quo were more likely expected to reach their goal than complainants. In the role of complainant, wives were more likely expected to reach their goal than were their husbands, but only when the conflict issue concerned their own gender stereotypical domain (i.e., family work).
Types of preschool friendships
Authors: KERNS KATHRYN A.
Published: May 2005

The present study used observational data on preschool friends and cluster analysis to derive friendship types. Friend pairs were videotaped in a 1‐hour free‐play session, and observers rated several qualities of the interaction. Cluster analysis suggested that both 3‐ and 5‐cluster solutions produced meaningful groupings. For both solutions, the largest cluster included friend pairs that were harmonious, responsive, and interactive during play. A second type of friendship was characterized by harmony but relatively independent play. A disjointed friendship type, in which friends were low on measures of coordinated interaction and positive interaction, was the most stable over a 1‐year period and tended to contain at least one insecurely attached child. Discussion focuses on how an analysis of friendship type can be used to extend our understanding of the nature and socialization functions of friendship.
Attachment and spousal caregiving
Authors: FEENEY JUDITH A. , HOHAUS LYDIA
Published: May 2005

A community sample of 362 married couples participated in a study of attachment and spousal caregiving, which combined qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative component focused on actual experiences of caregiving, assessed by participants' semi‐structured accounts of a situation involving their role as caregiver for their spouse. Attachment styles and their underlying dimensions (comfort with closeness, anxiety over relationships) were related to the type of support provided, the coping strategies used in the situation, caregivers' feelings about the quality of their care, perceived effects on the couple bond, and the emotional tone of the accounts. The quantitative component tested a theoretical model of factors predicting willingness to provide care for the spouse if he or she should become dependent in later life. Measures of attachment and caregiving styles, attachment to spouse, and anticipated burden provided reliable prediction of willingness to care. The results support the conceptualization of attachment and caregiving as interrelated features of marital bonds, and they have important implications for patterns of family caregiving.
Sex differences in the events that elicit jealousy among homosexuals
Authors: DIJKSTRA PIETERNEL , GROOTHOF HINKE A.K. , POEL GERDA A. , LAVERMAN EUNIS T.G. , SCHRIER MICHIEL , BUUNK BRAM P.
Published: May 2005

When individuals are asked which event would upset them more—a partner's emotional infidelity or a partner's sexual infidelity—among heterosexuals more men than women select a partner's sexual infidelity as the most distressing event, whereas more women than men select a partner's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event. Because homosexuals’mating psychology is unlike that of heterosexuals, the present study examined which of these two events is more upsetting in a sample of 237 Dutch homosexuals. In support of our hypothesis it was found that, whereas gay men more often than lesbian women chose a mate's emotional infidelity as the most upsetting event, lesbians more often than gay men chose a mate's sexual infidelity as the most upsetting event. In addition, analyses showed that the effect of participant sex on infidelity choice was mediated by beliefs with regard to the co‐occurrence of sexual and emotional infidelity. Apparently, with respect to choosing the most upsetting type of infidelity of their partner, homosexuals resemble heterosexuals of the opposite sex. Several explanations are discussed for this finding.
When you're not the Brady Bunch: Identifying perceived conflicts and resolution strategies in stepfamilies
Authors: COLEMAN MARILYN , FINE MARK A. , GANONG LAWRENCE H. , DOWNS KIMBERLY J. M. , PAUK NICOLE
Published: May 2005

This study was a qualitative analysis of interviews from 58 members of 17 stepfamilies regarding the sources of conflict and conflict resolution strategies. The majority of conflicts resulted from negotiation of family boundaries and were manifested in the following ways: (a) disagreements over resources; (b) loyalty conflicts; (c) individuals holding a “guard and protect” ideology; and (d) conflict with extended family members Wide arrays of resolution strategies were used, and some, but not all, resulted in positive outcomes.
Justice of give‐and‐take in the intimate relationship: When one partner of a couple is diagnosed with cancer
Authors: KUIJER ROELINE G. , BUUNK BRAM P. , YBEMA JAN F.
Published: May 2005

This study examined to what extent couples facing cancer (N= 55) and healthy couples (N= 74) perceived various distributions of give‐and‐take to be just or fair when occurring within a relationship of a cancer patient and his or her partner. Participants read one of three versions of a bogus interview with a couple facing cancer. In these scenarios, both partners were either equally well‐off in terms of give‐and‐take or one partner was better off than the other. In general, participants judged the equitable situation to be the fairest. Thus, even in a situation in which one partner of a couple has cancer, people generally judge a relationship in which both partners mutually support each other to be the fairest. Only in extreme situations (i.e., if the patient were in a bad condition) did participants regard a distribution according to need fairer than a distribution according to equity. Couples facing cancer and healthy couples did not differ in their judgments. In addition, emotional responses to the scenarios were studied. Consistent with equity theory, participants expected to feel most guilty in an overbenefited situation. In contrast with equity theory, however, participants did not expect to feel especially angry or sad in an underbenefited situation.
Parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in an academic counseling relationship
Authors: LAROSE SIMON , BOIVIN MICHEL , DOYLE ANNA BETH
Published: May 2005

The role of parental representations and attachment style as predictors of support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in the context of an academic counseling relationship was investigated. Prior to participation in a 10‐hour academic counseling program in college, 91 students completed scales assessing perceptions of their current relationship with their parents and their attachment style. Students' support‐seeking behaviors and counselors' sensitivity, as reported by both participants (students and counselors), were evaluated twice during the counseling process, and general feelings of support were evaluated at the end of the program. Parental representations and attachment style both predicted students' support‐seeking behaviors and perceptions of support in counseling. The strength of the prediction differed as a function of time of measurement and source of evaluation. In addition, student‐perceived counselor sensitivity was found to mediate the relation between parental representations and support‐seeking behaviors in counseling
The importance of similarity and understanding of partners' marital ideals to relationship satisfaction
Authors: ACITELLI LINDA K. , KENNY DAVID A. , WEINER DEBRA
Published: May 2005

This article extends earlier work on the association between relationship partners' similarity and understanding about marital ideals and relationship satisfaction by controlling for individual differences in stereotype endorsement or typical responding. For heterosexual couples we separated a measure of understanding into the general understanding of partners and understanding that is unique to the specific relationship partner. The measures of similarity and understanding were also separated into general similarity and understanding and into those that are unique between partners. We examined the contribution of each type of similarity and understanding to relationship satisfaction in 238 dating and married couples. Findings indicate that the more satisfied individuals believe that the partner endorses a “female” stereotype. Understanding does not relate to length of the relationship or satisfaction, but similarity in values does There is some indication that marital discord decreases with an increase in the male partners' understanding of their female partners.
The role of relationship development and attachment in the experience of romantic jealousy
Authors: KNOBLOCH LEANNE K. , SOLOMON DENISE HAUNANI , CRUZ MICHAEL G.
Published: May 2005

We argue that a relationship development perspective is useful for understanding the experience of jealousy in romantic relationships In particular, we highlight relational uncertainty and intimacy as two indicators of relationship development that are likely to coincide with people's propensity to experience cognitive and emotional jealousy. Because recent theoretical insights about jealousy have stemmed from an attachment perspective, we also examined the extent to which people's attachment orientation predicted their experience of jealousy. We conducted a study in which 132 individuals involved in dating relationships reported on characteristics of themselves and their relationships. Consistent with our predictions, relational uncertainty was strongly tied to cognitive jealousy, and intimacy was closely linked to emotional jealousy. Also as expected, attachment anxiety exerted a direct positive effect on emotional jealousy. Taken together, these results shed light on how the experience of jealousy is associated with both relationship and individual characteristics.
When does performance feedback prompt complementarity in romantic relationships?
Authors: BEACH STEVEN R. H. , WHITAKER DANIEL J. , JONES DEBORAH J. , TESSER ABRAHAM
Published: May 2005

Two studies addressed five issues concerning complementarity in romantic relationships and suggest that complementarity deserves a new look. Dating couples (N= 28 couples) and married couples (N= 43). were given performance feedback to assess effects on self and perceived partner relevance. We found that comparison with a partner but not comparison with a stranger prompted complementarity (Study 1). Comparison resulted in complementarity and did not merely change self‐image (Studies 1 and 2). Both outperforming the partner and being outperformed by the partner can prompt complementarity (Study 2). Ceding areas to the partner in response to being outperformed was relatively automatic (Study 2). And, degree of development in the relationship influenced response to comparison‐feedback (Studies 1 and 2). Findings suggest that partners in romantic relationships automatically protect their views of the relationship as a “team” by increasing “perceived complementarity” in response to differential performance feedback.
When the glass is half‐empty: Framing effects and evaluations of a romantic partner's attributes
Authors: KNEE C. RAYMOND , BOON SUSAN D.
Published: May 2005

Two studies examined how the framing of information influences evaluations of hypothetical relationships. Studies 1 (n= 183) and 2 (n= 247) examined how the framing of a hypothetical partner's attributes in gains or loss terms influences (a) impressions of the future success of the relationship and (b) the perceived importance of the partner's attributes. Generally, participants were less pessimistic about a relationship's future success when the partner's attributes were framed in gains terms than when framed in loss terms, even though the attributes were objectively identical in each case. Participants also attached significantly more importance to intelligence when it was missing among a partner's strengths than when it was present, particularly when the attribute was presented in a loss frame. This research has important implications for the integration of the decision‐making and relationship cognition literatures.
Daily experiences of intimacy: A study of couples
Authors: LIPPERT TONYA , PRAGER KAREN J.
Published: May 2005

The present study examined people's working definitions of intimacy, which emerge through daily interactions that are perceived as intimate by the participant. We proposed that working definitions should be reflected in a set of interaction characteristics that prompt relationship partners to label their interaction as intimate. Participants were 113 cohabiting couples who completed questionnaires and kept diaries of their interactions for 1 week. Interaction characteristics explaining perceived intimacy were interaction pleasantness, disclosure of private information, the expression of positive feelings, the perception of being understood by one's partner, and the disclosure of emotion. Further, more satisfied couples perceived their interactions as more intimate and showed stronger associations between interaction intimacy and partner disclosure than did less satisfied couples. Findings indicated that couple characteristics are more salient than person characteristics as predictors of intimacy in interactions.

The deepest need of man, then, is the need to overcome his separate‐ness, to leave the prison of his aloneness. The absolute failure to achieve this aim means insanity, because the panic of complete isolation can be overcome only by such a radical withdrawal from the world outside that the feeling of separation disappears–because the world outside, from which one is separated, has disappeared.
The affective shift hypothesis: The functions of emotional changes following sexual intercourse
Authors: HASELTONU MARTIE G. , BUSS DAVID M.
Published: May 2005

This article develops the Affective Ship Hypothesis, which suggests that women experience positive affective shifts following first‐time intercourse as a means to facilitate a longer‐term, more committed relationship. The hypothesis predicts a negative affective shift in men who pursue a short‐term mating strategy; this shift is hypothesized to function to curtail commitment by motivating the man to terminate the relationship. Study 1 (N= 177) documented sex differences predicted by the affective shift hypothesis. Study 2 (N= 203), using a somewhat different methodology involving reports of presex and postsex feelings, found that men with high numbers of sex partners, but not men with low numbers of partners, experienced a decrease in their partner's physical and sexual attractiveness following first‐time sexual intercourse. In contrast, women, more than men, experienced increases in feelings of love and commitment following first‐time sex.