Search

Three studies examined whether contemplating the usefulness that non-close and close others may provide for one's personal goals would promote or hinder interpersonal closeness. The results consistently demonstrated that such instrumental deliberation increased people's closeness with distant others (Studies 1–3); and the effect lasted until the next day (Study 2). For close others, however, the evidence was weaker. Moreover, perceived instrumentality, as a product of such elaboration, was more strongly related to the increase in closeness with non-close than with close others. Study 3 further showed that instrumental deliberation enhanced humanness perceptions of non-close others and reduced unethical behavior towards them. We discussed the potential implications of these findings for the understanding of instrumentality, objectification and interpersonal relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the effects of gift prices on recipients' gratitude. Five studies show an inverted U-shaped relationship between gift price and recipients' gratitude. Recipients are more likely to appreciate gifts of monetary value that align with their expectations than inexpensive or expensive gifts whose values do not meet the recipients' expectations. Two parallel underlying mechanisms explain the inverted U-shaped relationship: when gift prices are lower than expected, recipients perceive givers as inconsiderate, and when gift prices are higher than expected, recipients feel indebted. Additionally, we examine two boundary conditions. Compared to North Americans, Asians are more likely to show an inverted U-shaped relationship. In addition, close friends, rather than distant friends, are more likely to show an inverted U-shaped relationship. The paper concludes with a discussion of contributions to the literature on gift-giving and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research in moral psychology has shown that the willingness to protect a criminal an offender from punishment is influenced by emotional closeness to that offender (Weidman et al., 2020). Research has yet to examine cognitive mechanisms and the information considered whendeciding between protecting or reporting the offender. We replicated Experiment 2a of Berg Kitayama, & Kross (2021), which investigated how closeness to the offender and crime severity influence the willingness to protect the offender, as well as the attentional mechanisms informing that decision. Using Berg & colleagues’ (2021) data, we also explored whether familial vs. non-familial and romantic vs. non-romantic close relationships with the transgressorinfluenced the willingness to protect them. The findings from our replication of Experiment 2a revealed that people were (1) more likely to protect emotionally close transgressors than distant transgressors; (2) more likely to protect the transgressor for low severity than high severitycrimes, although the difference between willingness to protect close vs. distant transgressors for high severity crimes was larger than the difference of the willingness to protect a close (vs. distant) transgressor for a low severity crime; (3) paid more attention to details about the personwhen the transgressor was close to them but paid more attention to details about the crime when the offender was distant from them. Additional analysis revealed that familial vs. non-familial and romantic vs. non-romantic relationships with the transgressor predicted no significantdifferences in the willingness to protect them. Further investigation into situational or social factors that influence the link between relationship types and the willingness to protect the transgressor could help us gain greater insight into our behaviors when the expectations about the moral character of close loved ones are violated.

Xuan Yu,1 Luxiaohe Zhang,1,2 Meilin Liu,3 Bin He4 1School of Economics and Management, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Foreign Languages, Xi’an Shiyou University, Xi’an, Shannxi, People’s Republic of China; 3Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4School of National Governance, Southwest University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Meilin Liu, Antai College of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, People’s Republic of China, Email liumeilin@sjtu.edu.cnPurpose: Moqi can help team members facilitate communication without all interlocutors present, so the researchers speculate it can be an efficient communication tool for virtual teams to compensate for its lack of synchronous communication and in-person contact. However, the only study on the predictors of team members’ moqi believed that shared understandings could only arise from team tasks. Based on social exchange theory, the current study emphasizes the social and emotional benefits exchanged among team members and explores moqi-making among virtual team members through a lens of relationship-building.Methods: With a two-wave time-lagged survey design, a total of 381 team members from 86 virtual teams in China participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses.Results: Results confirmed that virtual team members’ empathy is conducive to their experiences of high-quality interpersonal relationships (HQIR) and moqi. Relationship closeness positively moderates the link between empathy and experiences of HQIR and the mediating effect.Conclusion: This study helps unveil the significance of compassionate communication and life-giving connections in cultivating virtual team members’ moqi and offers meaningful insights for facilitating virtual collaborations.Keywords: empathy, moqi, high-quality interpersonal relationship, relationship closeness, virtual teams

Exposure to adversity has been shown to amplify individuals' sensitivity to stress, increasing the risk of developing mental health problems in adulthood. Romantic relationships can serve as a broad resource in mitigating the negative impacts of adversity and stress on mental health; however, less is known about how everyday moments of closeness with one's romantic partner impact experiences of daily stress for people exposed to adversity. The present study uses ecological momentary assessment to examine moment-to-moment relationship closeness as a protective buffer against the effects of stress and adversity history (AH) on mood. Using a mobile app, 109 emerging adult couples (M age = 23.1) reported hourly feelings of stress, relationship closeness, and mood (i.e., happy, sad, nervous, angry) for one day. Results showed AH and relationship closeness each moderated the association between stress and negative mood. Specifically, greater AH was associated with increased same-hour links between stress and heightened nervousness and anger. Greater relationship closeness was associated with decreased drops in happiness and decreased rises in sadness and anger when stressed. A 3-way interaction between stress, AH, and relationship closeness indicated higher relationship closeness was a buffer against the impact of stress on happiness and anger. Specifically, high relationship closeness mitigated drops in happiness when stressed, especially for those with high AH; relationship closeness also mitigated rises in anger, but this effect was heightened for those with low AH. Exploratory gender moderation analyses showed complex links between stress, AH, closeness, and mood, with evidence indicating enhanced emotional intensity in women when stressed and enhanced protective benefits of relationship closeness in men, although this pattern was inconsistent. The discussion focuses on how experiences of AH can carry forward to shape emotional responses in adults and how relationship closeness may serve as a protective factor against the sensitizing effects of AH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether native Chinese speakers' comprehension of ironic criticism is constrained by relationship closeness in two experiments. In Experiment One, participants read conversations in which speakers were close or distant in relationships and made ironic or literal remarks, and then rated the degree of sarcasm, humor, and the appropriateness of each conversation. In Experiment Two, another group of participants read those conversations and answered questions by pressing the keyboard at their own pace. Ironic criticism made by close acquaintances was less sarcastic as well as more humorous and appropriate than that made by distant ones. Besides, close relationships facilitated the processing of the target sentences of ironies, and ironic target sentences were processed at a slower pace than literal ones only in the distant-relationship condition. To conclude, relationship closeness influences the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism both in terms of its pragmatic dimensions and the costs in reading. • Relationship closeness is an effective cue in the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism. • Rating tasks and self-paced reading tasks were used to examine the comprehension of Chinese ironic criticism. • Close relationship increases the degree of appropriateness and humor and decreases the degree of sarcasm. • Close relationship facilitates the processing of Chinese ironic criticism by reducing its reading time duration. • Insights are provided for the current theoretical accounts of figurative language processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: We conceptualize "perceived coworker creativity" as a resource that people seek to acquire through their relationships. Applying the Network Theory of Social Capital (NTSC), we examine whether perceiving a coworker as creative changes the closeness of the relationship an employee develops with this coworker and how being perceived as creative by others in the organization changes the weighted indegree centrality of this coworker in the organizational network over time. We also examine the role of gender and nationality similarity as moderators. We test our hypotheses in three studies: an experimental study of full‐time employees, a longitudinal study of full‐time employees over 8 weeks, and a longitudinal study of MBA students over 1 year. We find that employees tend to develop closer relationships over time with coworkers that they perceive as creative, and that this effect is generally stronger when these two individuals are of the opposite gender or different nationalities. Additionally, when more employees perceive a coworker as creative, it is more likely that this coworker will become more central in the network over time for those who belong to a minority group in terms of nationality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Concerned significant others (CSOs) can experience gambling-related harm, impacting their health and wellbeing. However, this harm varies depending on the type and closeness of the relationship with the person who gambles. We sought to determine the type and closeness of relationships that are more likely to experience harm from another person's gambling, and examine which aspects of health and wellbeing are related to this harm. Methods: We examined survey data from 1,131 Australian adults who identified as being close to someone experiencing a gambling problem. The survey included information on relationship closeness, gambling-related harm (GHS-20-AO), and a broad range of health and wellbeing measures; including the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI), the 12-item Short Form Survey (SF-12), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form (PANAS-SF). Results: CSOs in relationships where finances and responsibilities are shared were more likely to be harmed by another person's gambling problem, particularly partners (current and ex) and family members. This harm was most strongly associated with high levels of distress and negative emotions, impacting the CSO's ability to function properly at work or perform other responsibilities. Discussion and Conclusions: Support and treatment services for CSOs should consider addressing the psychological distress and negative emotions commonly experienced by CSOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies show that prosocial behavior leads to positive emotional outcomes for the actor, yet does it matter, who the beneficiary is? The present paper explores differential effects of helping acts towards close versus distant recipients on subjective well-being and the role that basic psychological needs play in this relationship. Two studies using event-recall (N = 127) and interventional (N = 305) designs in Russian samples were conducted to test our hypotheses. Study 1 showed that performing acts of kindness towards family and friends (compared to a control condition) led to higher satisfaction of the needs for relatedness and morality, while helping strangers increased only the latter. Study 2 failed to unconditionally replicate the prosocial-happiness link; however, when the need for competence was controlled for, helping both types of recipients was shown to provide higher event-level well-being outcomes. The positive effect of prosocial acts toward strong ties was mediated by relatedness and morality satisfaction, while when the recipient was a stranger, the effect was accounted for by fulfilling the needs for morality and autonomy. No significant event-level well-being differences were detected between those helping close versus distant others and no differences in positive affect, negative affect or life satisfaction emerged between the three conditions. The paper provides support for the importance of the self-perceived impact for the success of kindness interventions. We conclude with a discussion of implications for kindness interventions towards different recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic stress can accelerate biological aging, offering one mechanism through which stress may increase age-related disease risk. Chronic activation of the sympathoadrenal system increases cellular energy production, resulting in cell stress that can initiate cellular senescence, a permanent state of cell growth arrest. Our previous research linked psychosocial stress with increased expression of senescence marker p16INK4a; however, less is known about the role of protective psychosocial factors in biological aging. We examined relationship closeness (perceived interconnectedness with one's spouse) as a protective buffer of the effects of stress on expression of the p16INK4a-encoding gene (CDKN2A) and transcription control pathways activated under cell stress. Seventy parents (Mage=43.2) completed interview-based and questionnaire measures of psychosocial stress and relationship closeness. Blood samples assessed CDKN2A expression and inferred activity of a priori-selected transcription factors Nrf2 and heat shock factors (HSFs) via genome-wide transcriptome profiling. Random intercept models adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity/race revealed that perceived stress was associated with elevated CDKN2A expression for parents with low but not high closeness. Secondary bioinformatics analyses linked the interaction of perceived stress and relationship closeness to Nrf2 and HSF-1 activity. Findings identify relationship closeness as a protective factor that may buffer the impact of stress on cellular stress and senescence pathways.

A study of 190 omnivores examined their meat-eating justification (MEJ) beliefs and relationship closeness with veg*n friends, family members, and romantic partners; and how relationship closeness changes after veg*n diets are adopted. Denial and dissociation MEJs predicted lower closeness, whereas the hierarchical MEJ predicted higher closeness. Results also showed that relationship closeness significantly decreased for frequency and diversity of activities after adoption of veg*n diets. Closeness in terms of strength significantly increased after adoption of veg*n diets. A significant interaction was found between relationship type and time in which frequency of interactions decreased for friends and family after adoption of veg*n diets but did not change for romantic partners. These results suggest that only MEJs with moral considerations that elicit meat-related cognitive dissonance reduce relationship closeness after the adoption of veg*n diets; and that relationship closeness decreases after the adoption of veg*n diets only with friends or family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principal aim of this article is to explore the mechanism of association between informal helping behavior and life satisfaction among Russians. It especially focuses on the potential moderating role of the close relationship between the agent and the beneficiary, as well as the values and demographic characteristics of the agent. To test the main hypotheses, multiple regression analysis is applied to online survey data (N=732) with respondents sampled from a large consumer panel. As expected, a significant positive relationship was observed between the cognitive component of subjective well-being and the self-reported frequency of helping both close ones and strangers, with the association being more pronounced in the former case. At the same time, the effect of pro-social action towards relatives and friends appeared to vary depending on the value orientation and age of the respondent: in older people (51+), as well as those who attach greater importance to the equal treatment of all people (high score on Universalism), helping relatives is not as closely associated with subjective well-being. As far as the positive effect of helping strangers on life satisfaction is concerned, no significant moderation effects were detected, which indicates its relative universality. The potential implications for kindness interventions and volunteer recruitment as well as the prospects for future research are discussed in the conclusion.

Does talking about loss with a romantic partner have salutary personal and relationship effects? Prior evidence reveals the benefits of emotional disclosure in couple relationships, yet disclosure about loss has been overlooked in research on couple communication. Using a novel communication paradigm with young-adult heterosexual romantic partners (N = 114 couples), we investigated emotions, physiological arousal (skin conductance responses [SCR]), and relationship closeness when narrating a personal loss and listening to the partner's loss, and compared these loss discussions to discussions about desired relationship changes. Based on partners' self-reports, narrating loss elicited more vulnerable and, unexpectedly, more antagonistic emotions. Both narrating and listening to loss produced higher self-reported partner closeness, compared to discussing change. In support of the physiological benefits of disclosure, women's SCRs decreased over the discussion when they narrated their own loss. However, both women and men as listeners show a general trend of increasing SCRs over the discussion, suggesting the challenges of being a responsive partner. Moreover, in line with the putative protective effects of partners' biological interdependencies, partner closeness also was higher when both partners showed synchronous decreasing SCR as women narrated their loss. Although limited to young couples in relatively short relationships, these findings reveal some potential benefits of talking about loss in the context of romantic relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research examined the effects of sharing different types of memories on perceived relationship closeness and how that is related to psychological well-being in a cross-cultural context. In two studies, European American and Asian participants (total N = 714) reported their feelings of closeness to a conversation partner in hypothetical situations that involved five types of information sharing: specific and general autobiographical memories, specific and general vicarious memories, and non-person information. Sharing memories led to greater feelings of closeness than sharing non-person information in both groups. Asians felt closer to the conversation partner than European Americans across all types of information sharing. Sharing autobiographical and specific memories led to greater closeness than sharing vicarious and general memories in both groups, although sharing specific autobiographical memories appeared most effective for relationship closeness for European Americans. Perceived relationship closeness following conversational exchanges was positively associated with psychological well-being across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advice is a common element of supportive interactions, but unsolicited advice can harm the advice recipient as well as the relationship between the advice recipient and the advice giver. Despite the potential negative implications of unsolicited advice, very little is known about what predicts unsolicited advice giving in personal relationships. The present studies provide an empirical test of the association between relational closeness and unsolicited advice giving. In two studies, undergraduate students and members of the general population responded to hypothetical statements of discontent from friends who were not asking for advice. Relational closeness and unsolicited advice giving were positively correlated, with participants tending to provide more unsolicited advice to friends toward whom they felt greater relational closeness. Overall, participants gave unsolicited advice to their friends at a very early stage of a supportive interaction in approximately 70% of cases. Explanations and implications for these findings were discussed.

Interpersonal trust (IT) is a combination of individuals' cognitive evaluations of others' trustworthiness and affective considerations related to the relationships. Individuals' trust decisions overly relying on the intimacy of the relationship can be detrimental to their socialization. Attachment styles provide a theoretical framework for explaining individual differences in IT and the balance between cognition control and affective evaluation in social-information processing. However, it remains unclear whether high attachment anxiety (AX) individuals with high interpersonal needs exhibit non-socially adaptive trust decisions, characterized by an over-reliance on relationship closeness (RC), independent of partner trustworthiness (PT). A coin-toss task, combined with event-related potential (ERP), was utilized to explore the performance and temporal characteristics of trust decision-making among individuals with high and low AX under the influence of the two factors. The behavioral results showed that high-AX individuals tended to trust close others regardless of their trustworthiness, while low-AX individuals only trusted close others under low-PT conditions, with no differences in RC for high-PT. The ERP results revealed that high-AX individuals exhibited an enhanced positive P1 by low-trust partners, only discerning differences in RC for high-trust partners (more negative N2 by strangers than friends), reflecting poor conflict-detection abilities confronted with low-trust partners. Low-AX individuals' neural activity showed higher consistency with their behavioral performance, indicating that trust in close others under low-trust conditions was due to the fewer conflicts elicited and higher expectations of them, reflecting smaller N2 and larger P3. Overall, these findings indicated that high-AX individuals' IT decision-making was primarily influenced by their reliance on affective evaluation in information processing and weaker cognitive-control abilities, highlighting the contribution of attachment to social-information processing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

This study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of the desire for forgiveness on the association between relationship closeness and interpersonal forgiveness using event-related potentials (ERPs). We recruited forty student participants (20 males and 20 females) to complete the modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP), which was used to induce the offensive experience and record the victim's level of reactive aggression toward the offenders. Results indicated that for the internal intention of forgiveness behavior, when the desire for forgiveness was not expressed, participants were more forgiving of close offenders than strangers; when the desire for forgiveness was expressed, the internal intention of forgiveness behavior for strangers was similar to that for close offenders. Regarding the external performance of forgiveness behavior, whether the offender expressed the desire for forgiveness or not, participants exhibited more external performance of forgiveness behaviors toward the close offenders than the strangers. Furthermore, the decision-related negativity (DRN)—a negative component associated with aggressiveness—was larger when participants were considering the punishment of strangers when no desire for forgiveness was expressed. There was no significant difference when the desire for forgiveness was expressed. Moreover, the feedback-related negativity (FRN)—a negative component reflecting the evaluation of the valence of an outcome—was larger when participants lost a trial against strangers when no desire for forgiveness was expressed. No such difference was observed in both opponents when the desire for forgiveness was expressed. These findings confirmed that the desire for forgiveness moderated the association between relationship closeness and interpersonal forgiveness. • The influence of relationship closeness on interpersonal forgiveness is well known. • Moderating factors of this association have not been explored. • We propose the desire for forgiveness by the offender as a moderator. • Experimental procedure used electrophysiology, the modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm. • Participants equally forgave strangers when desire for forgiveness was expressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite the prominence of interpersonal emotion regulation, particularly during adolescence, it is a relatively understudied area of investigation. Co-rumination is an interpersonal emotion regulation strategy that is frequently used by adolescents. Traditional examinations of co-rumination have focused on its occurrence in person, while largely overlooking digital modes of communication. This study was the first to investigate adolescents' co-rumination across multiple communication modalities (i.e., in person, text, social media, phone) and its downstream association with affect and relationship closeness. Specifically, we examined: (1) the frequency of co-rumination across modalities, (2) the effect of co-rumination in one modality on the future use of co-rumination within that same modality (i.e., stability) and across other modalities (i.e., generalization); and (3) the prospective relation of co-rumination on negative affect, positive affect, and relationship closeness.Methods: Adolescents (n = 71; 33 girls and 38 boys; Mage = 12.70 years) residing in Canada completed twice-daily diary surveys for 14 days.Results: Findings indicated that adolescents co-ruminate across all modes of communication, particularly in person. There also was evidence of co-rumination stability and generalization over time for some modes of communication (within phone and from social media to in-person interactions), but not for others. Co-rumination through text and over the phone had affective and/or social benefits, whereas co-rumination through social media predicted diminished positive affect. We also identified ways these findings differed by gender.Conclusions: Implications for adolescents' emotional and social development and the field of co-rumination are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of the mentor–mentee relationship is considered the key mechanism of change in mentoring programmes, and volunteer mentor retention is crucial to improving delivery and outcomes. Combining theoretical frameworks on mentoring programmes and volunteerism, this study aimed to examine: (a) programme and school predictors of mentoring relationship closeness and (b) the relations between mentor‐reported relationship closeness, satisfaction with the relationship as a measure of subjective evaluations of their work and expressed intention to continue mentoring in the future. Volunteer mentors (N = 103, mean age = 65 years, 75% female) from a school‐based mentoring programme in Italy completed a survey. Results of path analyses revealed that relationship closeness was associated in a positive manner with perceptions of the adequacy of the mentoring session setting, and programme support, but not teacher support. In addition, mentors' satisfaction partially mediated the connection between relationship closeness and intention to remain in the programme. Implications for practice are discussed. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to examine intra- and interpersonal associations between poor mental health and mother–daughter relationship closeness in a sample of 467 dyads. An Actor–Partner Interdependence Model was utilized to examine bidirectional processes between mothers (mean age = 42.64, SD = 6.5) and their adolescent daughters (mean age = 15.37, SD = 1.15). The independent variable was self-reported poor mental health and the dependent variable was relationship closeness. Additionally, communication satisfaction was examined as a potential interpersonal mediator of the pathway between poor mental health and relationship closeness. Daughters' self-reported poor mental health negatively predicted their own perception of closeness as well as mothers' perception of closeness. Additionally, we find evidence that perceived communication may explain (i.e., mediate) both the actor effect (one's own poor mental health on one's own perception of closeness) and the partner effect (partner's poor mental health on one's own perception of closeness). Our results suggest that when daughters' mental health is poor, relationship closeness as perceived by mother and daughter may be weakened, and that this effect may in part be explained by poor communication between mother and daughter. Strategies to promote family communication, especially for families experiencing mental health problems, may aid in the development of closer mother–daughter relationships. Further, our results suggest the importance of investigating the potential bidirectional influence of mothers' and daughters' mental health on parent-adolescent relationship quality within a dyadic unit. Highlights: We found a bidirectional relationship of poor mental health and relationship closeness within mother–daughter dyads. In mother–daughter dyads, poor communication may have the capacity to explain why poor mental health can attenuate relationship closeness. There is a need for programs highlighting family communication interventions to improve mother–daughter relationship quality, especially for families experiencing mental health problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prosociality (i.e., voluntary thoughts and actions intended to benefit somebody else) is arguably essential for positive social relationships. The present research investigated under what conditions a prosocial focus has positive effects on the subjective well-being of a prosocial person. We addressed this question in an intervention study of daily social interactions. All participants (N = 295, 57.6% women, age 19-88 years) started the study with a baseline day with no intervention. Participants then underwent a video-based intervention that trained them to focus on either the well-being of others or the well-being of themselves. Participants applied the corresponding focus in social interactions on the next day. Compared with baseline, focusing on others did not significantly affect subjective well-being, whereas focusing on self significantly reduced subjective well-being (the latter effect was further moderated by age and relationship closeness). The difference between self- and other focus was moderated by age: Younger participants (<36 years) reported lower subjective well-being in the self-focus condition, whereas older adults (>68 years) showed the opposite effect (there was no difference in the middle-aged adults). Taken together, the results suggest that focusing on a social partner increases concerns about the partner's well-being but not necessarily one's own well-being. In contrast, focusing on oneself reduces concerns about the partner's well-being and-particularly for young adults-one's own well-being, rendering a strong focus on oneself a potential risk factor for young adults' well-being. Further research is needed to understand the negative effect of other- versus self-focus on older adults' well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When, why, and how does interpersonal forgiveness occur? These questions guided recent research that compared the relative abilities of empathy versus motivated reasoning models to account for the influence of relationship closeness on interpersonal forgiveness. Consistent support was provided for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. This model hypothesizes that, following relationship transgressions, relationship closeness leads to a desire to maintain a relationship. Desire to maintain a relationship leads to motivated reasoning. And motivated reasoning fosters interpersonal forgiveness. The goal of the present research was to examine two concerns that emerged from the initial support for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. First, were the measures of motivated reasoning and interpersonal forgiveness conflated, thus reducing the potential for empathy to account for interpersonal forgiveness? Second, did the analytic estimation used reduce the power to detect the mediational role of empathy? The present research examined these questions. When motivated reasoning was measured by thought listings (in addition to the original questionnaire items) and when the analytic estimation provided greater power, the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness was replicated.

When, why, and how does interpersonal forgiveness occur? These questions guided recent research that compared the relative abilities of empathy versus motivated reasoning models to account for the influence of relationship closeness on interpersonal forgiveness. Consistent support was provided for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. This model hypothesizes that, following relationship transgressions, relationship closeness leads to a desire to maintain a relationship. Desire to maintain a relationship leads to motivated reasoning. And motivated reasoning fosters interpersonal forgiveness. The goal of the present research was to examine two concerns that emerged from the initial support for the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness. First, were the measures of motivated reasoning and interpersonal forgiveness conflated, thus reducing the potential for empathy to account for interpersonal forgiveness? Second, did the analytic estimation used reduce the power to detect the mediational role of empathy? The present research examined these questions. When motivated reasoning was measured by thought listings (in addition to the original questionnaire items) and when the analytic estimation provided greater power, the Model of Motivated Interpersonal Forgiveness was replicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using hypothetical choice-dilemma scenarios, we examined the effect of relationship closeness on group-induced choice shifts in a sample of Chinese college students. Previous studies, which have shown an aversion to risk among Chinese students, have overlooked prior relationship closeness. This study attempts to fill the gap in the research by taking this factor into account. The study found that students shifted their choice toward greater risks when placed in groups composed entirely of individuals with high levels of closeness in their relationships than when they were alone. The implications of the findings are discussed from a Chinese Guanxi cultural perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that rejection increases negative affect and aggression and decreases helping behavior toward the excluder. Less is known about emotions and behavior after rejection by a friend for someone else. In two experimental studies (N = 101 and N = 169), we tested the predictions that rejection would feel worse in a close relationship but would result in less aggression and more reconnecting behavior, especially when the reasons for rejection were unknown. The results of Study 1 showed that, as expected, among acquaintances, more aggression was noted only after comparative rejection, but among strangers, aggression was also observed after rejection with no stated reason. Negative feelings toward a new acquaintance were only marginally stronger than those toward a stranger in Study 1, but Study 2 confirmed that rejection by a best friend, and especially comparative rejection by a friend, felt worse than other conditions. Study 2 also showed that reconnecting behavior was more likely to dominate over aggressive behavior between people in close relationships than between strangers. The results are discussed mostly in light of the multimotive model of rejection.

There is a robust evidence that social approach goals (i.e. approach of positive social outcomes) have positive consequences and social avoidance goals (i.e. avoidance of negative social outcomes) have negative consequences for subjective well‐being in young adulthood. Little is known about individual differences in social goals in later life. The current diary study with young (n = 212), middle‐aged (n = 232), and older adults (n = 229) tested––and supported––the hypotheses that age (i) differentially predicts the strength of habitual approach and avoidance goals in close and peripheral relationships and (ii) moderates the relation of approach and avoidance goals in peripheral (but not close) relationships and daily outcomes (subjective well‐being, subjective health, and satisfaction with social encounters). Older adults compared to younger adults reported higher levels of avoidance goals in peripheral (but not close) relationships. Younger adults who reported high levels of approach goals and older adults who reported high levels of avoidance goals in peripheral relationships experienced the most positive daily outcomes. In addition, social goals moderated some of the associations between (positive and negative) daily interactions and daily outcomes. Results underscore the importance of the closeness of social partners for individual differences in social goals across adulthood. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that rejection increases negative affect and aggression and decreases helping behavior toward the excluder. Less is known about emotions and behavior after rejection by a friend for someone else. In two experimental studies (N = 101 and N = 169), we tested the predictions that rejection would feel worse in a close relationship but would result in less aggression and more reconnecting behavior, especially when the reasons for rejection were unknown. The results of Study 1 showed that, as expected, among acquaintances, more aggression was noted only after comparative rejection, but among strangers, aggression was also observed after rejection with no stated reason. Negative feelings toward a new acquaintance were only marginally stronger than those toward a stranger in Study 1, but Study 2 confirmed that rejection by a best friend, and especially comparative rejection by a friend, felt worse than other conditions. Study 2 also showed that reconnecting behavior was more likely to dominate over aggressive behavior between people in close relationships than between strangers. The results are discussed mostly in light of the multimotive model of rejection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, researchers have begun to explore people's motives to forgive those who have offended them. Using a recall method, we examined whether such motives (relationship‐, offender‐ or self‐focused) differ between and within cultures that are more collectivistic (Moluccan Islands in Indonesia) or more individualistic (the Netherlands) and whether this depends on people's relationship with the offender. More specifically, we examined the idea that other‐focused motives should be more important in cultures that are more collectivistic and that self‐focused motives should prevail in more individualistic cultures. We found that Moluccan participants indeed endorsed relationship‐ and offender‐focused motives more than Dutch participants. Moluccan and Dutch participants did not, however, differ in the extent to which they endorsed self‐focused motives. Furthermore, Dutch participants were more likely to endorse relationship motives (especially in close relations) than self‐focused motives. For Moluccan participants, relationship‐, offender‐ and self‐focused motives were equally important and also did not depend on how close they were with the offender. Differences between the samples could not be explained by the extent to which people defined themselves as more independent or interdependent. The implications of these findings for future research on forgiveness motives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This manuscript aims to examine whether closer caregiver-care-recipient relationships are associated with less severe neuropsychiatric symptoms in persons with dementia. • In a sample of community based older adults with dementia and their caregivers, those with reported closer relationships had smaller increases in neuropsychiatric symptom severity over time and that higher reported caregiver-care recipient relationship was associated with lower affective symptoms and change in agitation/aggression and psychotic over time. • This suggests that closer caregiver-care recipient relationships may be a modifiable factor that could be the target of intervention for reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms. ABSTRACT Objective Closer caregiver-care recipient (CG-CR) relationships are associated with better cognitive and functional abilities, activities of daily living (in persons with dementia), and lower informal care costs. Methods Due to the difficulty in treating neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) and their detrimental effects on caregivers and care recipients, we examined whether closeness of CG-CR relationships was associated with overall NPS severity or with specific NPS symptom domains in care recipients. In a longitudinal population-based study in Cache County, Utah, the 12-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-12) was assessed in 300 CG-CR dyads. Caregivers reported current relationship closeness using the Whitlatch Relationship Closeness Scale. Linear mixed models examined associations between CG-CR closeness and NPI-12 total score or selected symptom domains over time (observation period: 2002–2012). Results In unadjusted linear mixed models, higher closeness scores were associated with a five-point lower NPI-12 score and a one-point lesser increase in NPI-12 per year. NPI scores also showed lower affective cluster scores (two points) and lesser increase in psychosis cluster (approximately 0.5 points per year) and agitation/aggression (0.16 points per year) for each unit increase in closeness. When controlling for NPI caregiver distress, associations between closeness and NPSs diminished to a 0.5-point lesser increase in total NPI-12 score per year. Adjusted models for NPI domains/clusters showed −0.32 points per year for the psychosis cluster, −0.11 points per year for agitation/aggression, and −0.67 overall for the affective cluster. Conclusion Higher CG-CR closeness, a potentially modifiable factor, is associated with lower NPS severity and may provide a target for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, I experimentally examined whether close relationship between a sender displaying affect and a receiver observing it fosters concordant affective reactions to the sender’s emotional displays. I recruited participants as pairs of either friends or strangers. One person served as a sender and the other person served as a receiver. The sender watched a happy or sad videotaped man, whereas the receiver observed him/her on the computer screen in a separate room. The results confirmed that the sender caught happiness displayed by the videotaped man and then passed it along to the receiver but only when the pair consisted of friends. When the pair consisted of strangers, this “second-hand” happiness contagion was blocked. The spread of sadness, however, remained unaffected by relationship closeness. This effect was not driven by the receiver’s ability to correctly decode the sender’s emotional expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding whether and why individuals' emotional responses are different to the same behaviour performed by different others is important for understanding phenomena in social interaction. Given that there is no relevant research in Eastern culture testing such issues, the present research including two studies was conducted with Chinese samples and investigated whether Easterners experience more vicarious guilt about close ones' immoral behaviours than distant ones' immoral behaviours and the underlying mechanism of the effect. Study 1 showed that people felt more guilty when recalling close ones' misdeeds than distant ones' misdeeds. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 using the scenario method and demonstrated that behavioural control partially mediated the effect of relationship closeness on vicarious guilt, that is, people reported more behavioural control over close ones' immoral behaviours, which in turn resulted in more vicarious guilt. Implications for social interaction and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines people's motives to (not) forgive group members who violate an important group norm. More specifically, we attempt to determine what is the primary focus in such a situation (the group, the offender, the relationship, or the self), and whether this depends on how important the group is and on the cultural context (more individualist or more collectivist). Our sample includes Moluccans living in Indonesia (more collectivist) and Moluccans in the Netherlands (more individualist). Participants were asked to evaluate a scenario in which a group member (close or nonclose other) violated an important group norm. We find that Indonesian Moluccans are more likely not to forgive group members who violate a group norm than Dutch Moluccans. This finding suggests that the group is more important to Indonesian Moluccans. Across the two samples, however, participants were more inclined to forgive an ingroup deviant for the benefit of this person or their relationship than for the benefit of the group. Interestingly, selffocused concerns were more important among Indonesian Moluccans and differences between the samples in the relative importance of the different motives could not be explained by people's self-definition (i.e., more independent or interdependent). Implications of these findings for the literature on forgiveness and on individualism-collectivism are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To expand new business, the telecommunication companies need to understand their users deeply. So the data of the user behavior was analyzed in the telecommunication system by using the big data analyzing technology. A clique percolation based local fitness method was proposed for weighted network algorithm ( CLFMw ) based on the call logs of users in the telecommunication network. The social relationships were established from all of the call connections. Based on the local fitness method ( LFM) and the clique percolation method (CPM) , the user group was constructed with CLFMw algorithm. According to the massive data sets of the telecommunication system, parallelization design was used based on the MapReduce programming model. Finally, the group construction algorithm is verified by the simulation data set and the real data set for China Mobile. The experimental results show that this method is well performed but also feasible and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines how people perceive and respond to potential conflict in work settings. When individuals highly value their interpersonal relationships with others, they may take the potential costs to relationships into consideration in deciding how to handle conflict. We propose that individuals take an avoidance approach to conflict to prevent disruption in relationships from confrontation. Specifically, the value that individuals place on superficial harmony is positively related to their negative anticipation of relationship costs, which in turn leads to conflict avoidance. Furthermore, the direct relationship between superficial harmony and negative anticipation and the indirect relationship between superficial harmony and conflict avoidance are negatively moderated by the closeness of relations between the parties involved. The results of two studies conducted in workplace settings supported our hypothesized moderated mediation model. Highlighting the role of superficial harmony in conflict avoidance, this research contributes to the existing literature on conflict management and has practical implications for effectively managing conflict in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Spouses provide the majority of care for individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The qualitative literature suggests that couples adopt one of two perspectives in their accounts of AD: a We/Us approach where couples describe experiences as a composite whole or an I/Me approach where couples describe themselves as experiencing the impact of AD separately. Little is known about how these perspectives relate to the individual characteristics of either affected party. This study investigated the experiences of dyads taking both approaches. Eleven spousal dyads were divided into I/Me ( n = 5) and We/Us ( n = 6) groupings based on qualitative analyses completed as part of a larger project. Diagnosed individuals were given measures of cognitive and functional ability and caregivers completed anxiety, depression, burden, relationship satisfaction, and positive aspects of caregiving measures. We found no significant differences between groups on patient cognitive or functional ability, or caregiver anxiety, depression, burden, or relationship satisfaction. However, We/Us caregivers expressed more positive aspects of caregiving than I/Me caregivers. These findings suggest the I/Me approach is not associated with differences in variables of patient cognitive status or functional ability or caregiver emotional health, perceived burden, or relationship satisfaction. Caregivers taking a We/Us approach, however, were able to identify more positive aspects of caregiving. This may be related to mutual compassion, a characteristic of the We/Us approach, which may be protective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental tradition transfer to children is pivotal for their socialization, identity formation, and culture perpetuation. But what motivates parents to transfer traditions to their children? We hypothesized that nostalgia, an emotion strengthening interpersonal bonds, would promote tradition transfer through parent-child relationship closeness. We tested these hypotheses using cross-sectional (Studies 1 and 4), cross-lagged (Study 2 and preregistered Study 5), and experimental (Studies 3 and 6) designs. In Studies 1 to 3, nostalgia was associated with, had lagged effect on, and promoted tradition transfer. In Studies 4-6, parent-child relationship closeness mediated the link between nostalgia and tradition transfer. The findings enrich our understanding of the vertical transmission of knowledge, customs, and values, offering insight into how intergenerational bonds are reinforced and cultural heritage is maintained., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.