scholarly journals How Power Affects Emotional Communication During Relationship Conflicts: The Role of Perceived Partner Responsiveness

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062199649
Author(s):  
María Alonso-Ferres ◽  
Francesca Righetti ◽  
Inmaculada Valor-Segura ◽  
Francisca Expósito
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Emotional Communication ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Total N ◽  
Emotional Inhibition ◽  
Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽  
Partner Responsiveness

Prior research indicated that lack of power leads to emotional suppression and low emotional expression during conflicts among strangers. However, little is known about how power affects emotional inhibition in close relationships, where partners are highly interdependent, and achieving one’s goals greatly depends on their partner’s cooperation. In three studies among romantic couples (total N = 994), we examined whether (a) power is related to emotional inhibition during conflicts, (b) perceived partner responsiveness moderates this effect and, (c) which conflict-resolution responses are subsequently enacted. Findings consistently showed that powerless individuals were more likely to inhibit their emotions and consequently to use passive responses during conflicts. However, this only occurred when they perceived lack of responsiveness from their partner. If the partner was perceived as responsive (i.e., showed care, validation, and understanding), power was not related to emotional inhibition and passive resolutions. The importance of partner’s responses in relation to power asymmetry is discussed.

Today You Care, Tomorrow You Don’t: Differential Roles of Responsiveness Variability and Average Responsiveness in Romantic Attachment

2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062094411
Author(s):  
Gul Gunaydin ◽  
Emre Selcuk ◽  
Betul Urganci ◽  
Sumeyra Yalcintas
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Attachment ◽  
Attachment Anxiety ◽  
Attachment Avoidance ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Perceived Responsiveness ◽  
Specific Attachment ◽  
Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽  
Relational Outcomes ◽  
Partner Responsiveness

Past work has shown that perceived responsiveness is a key predictor of relational outcomes. However, this work has focused solely on average levels of responsiveness and never studied the role of responsiveness variability (consistency of responsiveness) in intimate relationships. The present study addressed this gap by investigating the long-held but scarcely tested tenet that responsiveness variability and average responsiveness play differential roles in romantic attachment. New romantic couples ( N = 151) reported partner-specific attachment anxiety and avoidance in six sessions. Every evening during the 3-week period in between the first two sessions, participants reported perceived partner responsiveness, allowing us to assess both average responsiveness and responsiveness variability. Our findings provided the first empirical evidence that responsiveness variability uniquely predicted increases in partner-specific attachment anxiety, whereas average responsiveness uniquely predicted decreases in partner-specific attachment avoidance. Average responsiveness and responsiveness variability continued to predict attachment orientations assessed about half a year later.

scholarly journals Perceived Partner Responsiveness Forecasts Behavioral Intimacy as Measured by Affectionate Touch

2021 ◽  
pp. 014616722199334
Author(s):  
Tatum A. Jolink ◽  
Yen-Ping Chang ◽  
Sara B. Algoe
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Interpersonal Process ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Behavioral Studies ◽  
Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽  
Partner Responsiveness

Affectionate touch is an important behavior in close relationships throughout the lifespan. Research has investigated the relational and individual psychological and physical benefits of affectionate touch, but the situational factors that give rise to it have been overlooked. Theorizing from the interpersonal process model of intimacy, the current studies tested whether perceived partner responsiveness forecasts affectionate touch in romantic couples. Following a preliminary integrative data analysis ( N = 842), three prospective studies use ecologically valid behavioral (Studies 1 and 2) and daily (Studies 2 and 3) data, showing a positive association between perceived partner responsiveness and affectionate touch. Furthermore, in Study 3, we tested a theoretical extension of the interpersonal process of intimacy, finding that affectionate touch forecasts the partner’s perception of the touch-giver’s responsiveness the next day. Findings suggest affectionate touch may be an untested mechanism at the heart of the interpersonal process of intimacy.

You haven’t been on my mind lately

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 440-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moran Mizrahi ◽  
Yaniv Kanat-Maymon ◽  
Gurit E. Birnbaum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Diary Study ◽  
Sexual Fantasies ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Partner Responsiveness ◽  
Over Time

Sexual desire between romantic partners tends to decrease over time. A decrease in frequency of dyadic fantasies and an increase in frequency of extradyadic fantasies are typical manifestations of this process. The present diary study adopted an attachment-theoretical perspective to better understand why some people are less likely to fantasize about their partners. Both members of 100 romantic couples completed measures of relationship-specific insecurities, partner responsiveness, and frequency of sexual fantasies every evening for 42 days. Results showed that attachment insecurities were associated with lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Partner responsiveness mediated these associations, such that attachment insecurities were associated with perceiving partners as less responsive, which, in turn, predicted lower frequency of dyadic fantasies. Men’s avoidance predicted higher frequency of extradyadic fantasies. These findings demonstrated the role of responsiveness in sustaining desire, suggesting that attachment insecurities bias people to perceive their partner as less responsive, thereby hampering sexual desire.

You Mean the World to Me: The Role of Residential Mobility in Centrality of Romantic Relationships

2021 ◽  
pp. 194855062110610
Author(s):  
Cansu Yilmaz ◽  
Emre Selcuk ◽  
Gul Gunaydin ◽  
Banu Cingöz-Ulu ◽  
Alpay Filiztekin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Residential Mobility ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Total N ◽  
Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽  
History Of ◽  
Residential Moves ◽  
Age Range

Integrating the suffocation model of marriage with research on residential mobility, the current studies examined for the first time whether long-term romantic relationships are more central for residentially mobile (vs. stable) individuals (total N across three studies = 5,366; age range = 18–95). In Study 1, individuals who moved away from their place of birth (vs. not) were more likely to first confide in their spouse over other network members on important matters. In Study 2, history of frequent residential moves was associated with greater importance ascribed to romantic partners in the attachment hierarchy. In Study 3, the slope of perceived partner responsiveness predicting eudaimonic well-being got steeper as residential mobility increased. By showing the role of residential mobility in romantic relationships, our findings highlight the importance of studying socioecological factors to gain a deeper understanding of how relationship processes unfold.

scholarly journals Me or Us? Self-Control Promotes a Healthy Balance Between Personal and Relationship Concerns

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko L. Visserman ◽  
Francesca Righetti ◽  
Madoka Kumashiro ◽  
Paul A. M. Van Lange
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Romantic Couples ◽  
Total N ◽  
Optimal Balance ◽  
Relational Concerns ◽  
Relational Balance

Although romantic partners strive to achieve an optimal balance in fulfilling both personal and relational concerns, they are inevitably challenged by how much time and effort they can dedicate to both concerns. In the present work, we examined the role of self-control in successfully maintaining personal–relational balance through promoting balance and preventing personal and relational imbalance (overdedication to personal or relational concerns, respectively). We conducted two studies among romantic couples (total N = 555), using questionnaires and diary procedures to assess everyday experiences of personal-relational balance and imbalance. Both studies consistently showed that self-control promotes personal–relational balance. Moreover, findings partly supported our hypothesis that self-control prevents personal and relational imbalance (Study 2). Finally, findings also revealed that maintaining personal–relational balance is one of the mechanisms by which self-control can promote personal and relationship well-being. Implications of the present findings and avenues for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Actual and Perceived Emotional Similarity in Couples’ Daily Lives

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sels ◽  
Yan Ruan ◽  
Peter Kuppens ◽  
Eva Ceulemans ◽  
Harry Reis
Keyword(s):  
Close Relationships ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Perceived Similarity ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Sampling Studies ◽  
Perceived Partner Responsiveness ◽  
Partner Responsiveness

We used two experience sampling studies to examine whether close romantic partners’ feelings of love and perceived partner responsiveness are better predicted by their actual emotional similarity or by their perceived emotional similarity. Study 1 revealed that the more partners were emotionally similar, the more they perceived their partner as responsive. This effect was mediated by perceived similarity, indicating that emotional similarity had to be detected in order to exert an effect. Further, when people overperceived their emotional similarities, they also reported more perceived partner responsiveness. Study 2 replicated these findings, by revealing similar effects for actual and perceived similarity on the love people reported to feel toward their partner. Implications for understanding the factors that predict feelings of love and responsiveness in close relationships are discussed.

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