Responses to dissatisfaction in friendships and romantic relationships: An interpersonal script analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1651-1670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheryl Harasymchuk ◽  
Beverley Fehr

According to interpersonal script models, people’s responses to relational events are shaped by the reaction they expect from a close other. We analyzed responses to dissatisfaction in close relationships from an interpersonal script perspective. Participants reported on how a close friend or romantic partner would react to their expressions of dissatisfaction (using the exit-voice-loyalty-neglect typology). They were also asked to forecast whether the issue would be resolved (i.e., anticipated outcomes). Our main hypothesis was that people’s expectations for how a close other would respond to dissatisfaction would be dependent on their own self response. Further, we predicted that passive responses would be more common and viewed as less deleterious to a friendship than a romantic relationship. Results indicated that the responses that were expected from close others were contingent on how self responded. Moreover, as predicted, these contingencies followed different tracks depending on the type of relationship. Friends were more likely to expect passive responses to self’s expression of dissatisfaction, especially if self responded with neglect, whereas romantic partners expected more active responses. Furthermore, people anticipated that the issue would be more likely to be resolved if their friend (vs. romantic partner) responded passively and less actively (especially for destructive responses). It was concluded that people hold complex, nuanced interpersonal scripts for dissatisfaction and that these scripts vary, depending on the relationship context.

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 679-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
René M. Dailey

For individuals losing weight who are cohabiting with their romantic partners, weight loss is pursued within a relational context. To better understand the role of romantic partners, 44 individuals from a Southwestern city in the U.S. who were actively trying to lose weight were interviewed about the current and desired role of their partner in their weight loss. Responses were transcribed and qualitatively analyzed. Themes specifically pertinent to the romantic relationship that facilitated or hindered weight loss were identified. Three major themes emerged, each with subthemes. Factors that facilitated weight loss were having a team effort in pursuing the weight loss goals, partners being accommodating to dietary and schedule changes, and the provision of logistical help (e.g., childcare). Obstacles presented by the interdependent nature of romantic relationships included partners having opposing perspectives on weight loss, partners’ negative comments about themselves, and difficulties in balancing the weight loss goals with the needs of the relationship. Complicating support from partners, some participants gave mixed messages about the desired support from their partners as well as inconsistent reactions to partner support. The findings highlight that theory and intervention programs need to consider the complexity of losing weight in this interdependent, relational context.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Joel ◽  
Emily Impett ◽  
Stephanie Spielmann ◽  
Geoff MacDonald

The decision to end a romantic relationship can have a life-changing impact on the partner as well as the self. Research on close relationships has thus far focused on self-interested reasons why people choose to stay in their relationship versus leave. However, a growing body of research on decision-making and prosociality shows that when people make decisions that impact others, they take those others’ feelings and perspectives into consideration. In the present research, we tested the prediction that people make stay/leave decisions prosocially, such that consideration for their romantic partner’s feelings can discourage people from ending their relationships. In Study 1, a total of 1,348 participants in romantic relationships were tracked over a ten-week period. Study 2 was a preregistered replication and extension of Study 1, in which 500 participants contemplating a breakup were followed over a two-month period. Both studies showed that the more dependent people believed their partner was on the relationship, the less likely they were to initiate a breakup. These findings held above and beyond a variety of self-focused variables (e.g., investment model components; Rusbult, Martz, & Agnew, 1998). These results suggest that people can be motivated to stay in relatively unfulfilling relationships for the sake of their romantic partner.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Natalia Sabelnikova ◽  
Dmitry Kashirsky ◽  
Olga Garvard

The study investigated young adults’ perceptions of their parents and romantic partners with respect to the quality of attachment to the loved ones. The sample consisted of 78 young Russian men and women aged 19–25 involved in a romantic relationship for at least for 12 months. The employed instruments were the Attachment to Close People Questionnaire (ACOQ), based on the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) questionnaire, the Adolescents’ Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, and Leary’s Interpersonal Behavior Measure. Regression analysis was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the attachment to the mother contributed to attachment to the romantic partner more than the attachment to the father. The attachment security with the partner was associated with the image of the partner.


2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomo Umemura ◽  
Lenka Lacinová ◽  
Petr Macek ◽  
E. Saskia Kunnen

Only a few studies have longitudinally explored to whom emerging adults prefer to turn to seek closeness, comfort, and security (called “attachment preferences”), and previous studies on attachment preferences in emerging adults have focused only on the beginning of romantic relationships but not on the end of relationships. Czech emerging adults ( M = 21.47; SD = 1.48) completed the questionnaire of attachment preferences at two time points, Wave 1 (Summer 2013) and Wave 2 (Summer 2014). Latent difference score analyses revealed that emerging adults who were not in a romantic relationship in Wave 1 but started a romantic relationship between the two waves ( n = 97) and those who had a romantic partner in both waves ( n = 379) were both more likely to increase their attachment preference for the romantic partner and decrease their preference for friends, whereas those who did not start a relationship ( n = 185) were not. Emerging adults who were in a romantic relationship in Wave 1 but were not in Wave 2 ( n = 69) decreased their preference for the partner and increased their preference for friends. In all the groups, attachment preferences for the mother, for the father, or for the family did not change. Multiple regression analyses further revealed that for those who had a romantic partner in both waves, their length of romantic relationship was associated with changes in attachment preferences for romantic partners and for friends.


2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 519-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Seiffge-Krenke

In an 8-year prospective study conducted on 103 subjects, the developmental sequence of and the factors contributing to a bonded romantic outcome in young adulthood were investigated. The subjects’ self-concepts and their relationships with mothers, fathers, and same-sex friends were assessed at the ages of 13, 15, and 17 years. Having a romantic partner and the quality of relationships with romantic partners were assessed at ages 13, 15, 17, and 21 years. Evidence was found for a developmental sequence in romance with respect to differences in the quality and duration of romantic relationships over time. Factor analysis revealed that at age 21, bonded romantic love emerged as a romantic outcome. Two models of romantic relationship development, varying in complexity, were tested. The results revealed that support from parents, friends, and romantic partners as well as self-concept contributed differently to the prediction of bonded love at age 21. Regression analyses revealed that at age of 13, during the initiation phase, the self-concept contributed significantly to the prediction of bonded love in young adulthood. Similarly, during the affection phase, at age 17, the quality of the relationship with the romantic partner was predictive of bonded love in early adulthood. The results were less clear at age 15, during the status phase. In addition, it was found that the importance of the romantic partner as support provider increased as the relationship developed. Contrary to expectations, peer support was found to be important only during later stages of romantic development.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Gaia Cuccì ◽  
Maria Giulia Olivari ◽  
Emanuela Confalonieri

In Italy the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown have deeply changed the way Italian people used to live. Many emerging adults had to self-distance from their romantic partners and modify the way of communicating and relating to each other. Thus managing a romantic relationship could be very challenging.The study quantitatively and qualitatively investigates the association between Lockdown related negative emotions, perception of the romantic relationship quality, changes in the relationship's characteristics and conflict within the couple. The sample consists of 171 emerging adults involved in a romantic relationship, who spent the time of lockdown apart from the romantic partner.Results showed that the perception of the relationship quality was not greatly associated with Lockdown related negative emotions, but was associated with changes and higher conflict within the relationship. Qualitative data support and enrich these results. Changes and conflicts within the relationship were due to: difficulties to communicate, lack of intimacy, awareness about relationship importance or presence of emotionaldetachment between partners.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Meltzer

Women are frequently valued for their sexuality and physical appearance, and there is theoretical reason to believe that the effects of such valuation depend on the context. A robust body of research demonstrates that such valuation from male strangers harms women’s self-esteem; the current studies, however, tested whether women experience more positive outcomes when such valuation emerges in the context of their romantic relationships. Study 1 used an event-based diary study to demonstrate that when partners (vs. male strangers) draw attention to women’s sexuality and physical appearance, those women report higher appearance esteem and, subsequently, higher self-esteem. Study 2 used data from two independent, longitudinal studies of newlywed couples to demonstrate that partner sexual and physical valuation has positive implications for women’s self-esteem over time. These findings highlight that sexual and physical valuation is not inherently beneficial or harmful; rather, the implications of such valuation depend on the relationship context.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jarryd Willis ◽  
Yasmine Saraf ◽  
Laureen Khalil ◽  
Samantha Yim ◽  
Gareth Disler ◽  
...  

This study focuses on the formation of bullied individuals’ friendships and romantic relationships. Individuals bullied in their past may be more likely to form connections with those who share similar oppressive experiences. Thus, we investigated the possibility that implicit homophily underlies the formation of interpersonal relationships amongst previously bullied individuals. Moreover, we investigated whether these individuals were aware of their friends’ and romantic partners’ similarly oppressive experiences prior to initiating the relationship. Our findings suggest that the young adults in our sample bullied in grade school are significantly more likely to have a close friend and or significant other who also experienced bullying. The findings of this study contribute to the relatively small, yet growing, body of research on implicit homophily, add to research extending homophily processes to bullies and victims, and are in line with research suggesting that deselection (a form of induced homophily) can coexist with homophily by personal preference.


Author(s):  
Morissan Morissan

This research examined the relationship between smartphone usage and academic achievement in university students. The sample of this research was 598 university students in Jakarta. Several important factors, such as self-efficacy, academic efficacy, gender, smoking habit, and romantic relationships were taken into consideration in determining the relationship. First, and independent sample t-test and ANOVA were conducted to determine if academic performance was influenced by the three predictors (sex, smoking habit, and romantic relationship). Second, hierarchical multiple regression was done to find out whether there was a significant relationship between smartphone usage and academic performance by controlling the overall predictor variables. The findings revealed that the female group exhibited better academic performance, as did the students who did not smoke and had no romantic partners. Furthermore, the multiple hierarchical regression indicated that among all predictors examined, smoking habit was the most significant moderator that influences academic performance (β = -0.22, p


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215824402110383
Author(s):  
Yasmine Saraf ◽  
Laureen Khalil ◽  
Jarryd Willis ◽  
Samantha Yim ◽  
Gareth Disler ◽  
...  

This study focuses on the formation of bullied individuals’ friendships and romantic relationships. Individuals bullied in their past may be more likely to form connections with those who share similar oppressive experiences. Thus, we investigated the possibility that implicit homophily underlies the formation of interpersonal relationships among previously bullied individuals. Moreover, we investigated whether these individuals were aware of their friends’ and romantic partners’ similarly oppressive experiences prior to initiating the relationship. Our findings suggest that the young adults in our sample bullied in grade school are significantly more likely to have a close friend and or significant other who also experienced bullying. The findings of this study contribute to the relatively small, yet growing, body of research on implicit homophily, add to research extending homophily processes to bullies and victims, and are in line with research suggesting that deselection (a form of induced homophily) can coexist with homophily by personal preference.


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