Empathic accuracy and interpersonal emotion regulation in close relationships.

Interpersonal emotion regulation commonly occurs in the context of close relationships. The present study examined whether accurately knowing the emotions that one's romantic partner would feel in a given situation was associated with the effectiveness of interpersonal emotion regulation attempts. One partner from 92 romantic dyads ( = 184) was randomly assigned to the role of the target, and the other was assigned to the role of the regulator.

Responsiveness in romantic partners' interactions.

Close relationships, such as romantic partner dyads, involve numerous social exchanges in myriad contexts. During these exchanges, when one of the interaction partners discloses information, the other partner typically communicates a response. The discloser then evaluates the extent to which that response conveys that the responder understood their thoughts, goals, and needs, validated their position, and cared for their well-being.