Half Empty Half Full? Biased Perceptions of Compassionate Love and Effects of Dyadic Complementarity.

The prevailing theory on relationship judgments for interaction attributes suggests individuals tend to underestimate a romantic partner's expressions of compassionate love and that such underestimation is beneficial for the relationship. Yet, limited research has incorporated dyadic perspectives to assess how biased perceptions are associated with both partners' outcomes. In two daily studies of couples, we used distinct analytical approaches (Truth and Bias Model; Dyadic Response Surface Analysis) to inform perspectives on how biased perceptions are interrelated and predict relationship satisfaction.

Feeling loved as a strong link in relationship interactions: Partners who feel loved may buffer destructive behavior by actors who feel unloved.

Feeling loved (loved, cared for, accepted, valued, understood) is inherently dyadic, yet most prior theoretical perspectives and investigations have focused on how actors feeling (un)loved shapes actors' outcomes. Adopting a dyadic perspective, the present research tested whether the established links between actors feeling unloved and destructive (critical, hostile) behavior depended on partners' feelings of being loved. Does feeling loved need to be mutual to reduce destructive behavior, or can partners feeling loved compensate for actors feeling unloved? In five dyadic observational studies, couples were recorded discussing conflicts, diverging preferences or relationship strengths, or interacting with their child (total = 842 couples; 1,965 interactions).

Toward an optimized measure of perceived partner responsiveness: Development and validation of the perceived responsiveness and insensitivity scale.

Perceived partner responsiveness (PPR; Reis & Shaver, , 1988, Wiley)-the belief that one's partner will attend to core concerns-is a construct in basic relationship research that can help evaluate intimacy in couple therapy. However, research into PPR is hampered by a lack of standardized measurement. Three studies were undertaken to develop and evaluate an optimized self-report PPR measure.

Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies.

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e.

Does support need to be seen? Daily invisible support promotes next day relationship well-being.

Direct and overt promotes recipients' relationship satisfaction but can also exacerbate negative mood. In contrast, subtle and indirect can bypass costs to mood, but it is unclear whether it undermines or boosts relationship satisfaction. Because invisible support is not perceived by recipients, its relational impact may be delayed across time.

Compassionate acts and everyday emotional well-being among newlyweds.

Compassion is deeply prized in Western marriages yet its benefits for emotional well-being have been investigated empirically only rarely. This research examined the association between compassionate acts and everyday emotional well-being in 175 newlywed couples. Following prior research and theory, we defined compassionate acts as caregiving that is freely given, focused on understanding and genuine acceptance of the other's needs and wishes, and expressed through openness, warmth, and a willingness to put a partner's goals ahead of one's own.

Positive and negative evaluation of relationships: Development and validation of the Positive-Negative Relationship Quality (PN-RQ) scale.

Three studies were undertaken to develop the Positive-Negative Relationship Quality scale (PN-RQ), conceptualizing relationship quality as a bidimensional construct in which the positive qualities of a relationship are treated as distinct from its negative qualities. Analyses in emerging adults (Study 1: N = 1,814), in online respondents (Study 2: N = 787) with a 2-week follow-up, and in a single group pre-intervention-post-intervention study (Study 3: N = 54) of the Promoting Awareness, Improving Relationships (PAIR) program provided support for (a) positive and negative qualities as distinct dimensions via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (b) the PN-RQ representing an item response theory-optimized measure of these 2 dimensions, (c) substantive differences between indifferent (low positive and negative qualities) and ambivalent (high positive and negative qualities) relationships potentially obscured by unidimensional scales, (d) high levels of responsiveness of the PN-RQ scales to change over time, (e) the unique predictive validity offered over time by the PN-RQ scores beyond that offered by scores of current unidimensional measures of relationship quality, and (f) the unique longitudinal information gained by using the PN-RQ as a bidimensional outcome measure in an intervention study. Taken together, the studies offer promising support for the PN-RQ scales suggesting that they have the potential to advance both basic and applied research.

When does familiarity promote versus undermine interpersonal attraction? A proposed integrative model from erstwhile adversaries.

This article began as an adversarial collaboration between two groups of researchers with competing views on a longstanding question: Does familiarity promote or undermine interpersonal attraction? As we explored our respective positions, it became clear that the limitations of our conceptualizations of the familiarity-attraction link, as well as the limitations of prior research, were masking a set of higher order principles capable of integrating these diverse conceptualizations. This realization led us to adopt a broader perspective, which focuses on three distinct relationship stages-awareness, surface contact, and mutuality-and suggests that the influence of familiarity on attraction depends on both the nature and the stage of the relationship between perceivers and targets. This article introduces the framework that emerged from our discussions and suggests directions for research to investigate its validity.

In live interaction, does familiarity promote attraction or contempt? Reply to Norton, Frost, and Ariely (2011).

In this reply, we address and refute each of Norton, Frost, and Ariely's (see record 2011-18560-001) specific objections to the conclusion that, ceteris paribus, familiarity breeds liking in live interaction. In particular, we reiterate the importance of studying live interaction rather than decontextualized processes. These rebuttals notwithstanding, we concur with Norton et al.

Familiarity does indeed promote attraction in live interaction.

Does familiarity promote attraction? Prior research has generally suggested that it does, but a recent set of studies by Norton, Frost, and Ariely (2007) challenged that assumption. Instead, they found that more information about another person, when that information was randomly selected from lists of trait adjectives, using a trait evaluation paradigm, promoted perceptions of dissimilarity and, hence, disliking. The present research began with the assumption that natural social interaction involves contexts and processes not present in Norton et al.

Are you happy for me? How sharing positive events with others provides personal and interpersonal benefits.

Sharing good news with others is one way that people can savor those experiences while building personal and interpersonal resources. Although prior research has established the benefits of this process, called capitalization, there has been little research and no experiments to examine the underlying mechanisms. In this article, we report results from 4 experiments and 1 daily diary study conducted to examine 2 mechanisms relevant to capitalization: that sharing good news with others increases the perceived value of those events, especially when others respond enthusiastically, and that enthusiastic responses to shared good news promote the development of trust and a prosocial orientation toward the other.