A longitudinal test of the relational turbulence model of romantic relationship development

A longitudinal study evaluated associations between intimacy and relational uncertainty and characteristics of interdependence within nonmarital romantic relationships. Three hundred and fifteen college students in the United States completed a Web‐based survey about their relationship weekly for 6 weeks. Results indicated nonlinear associations between intimacy and relational uncertainty and perceptions of a partner’s interference (p < .001) that were inconsistent with hypotheses. Intimacy was positively associated with a partner’s influence in and facilitation of activities (p < .001). An interaction between intimacy and a partner’s influence predicted a partner’s interference, such that a partner’s influence was more positively associated with interference at low, compared to high, intimacy (p < .05). The implications of these findings for rethinking the relational turbulence model are discussed.     

Using the relational turbulence model to understand negative emotion within courtship

We employ the relational turbulence model to deduce hypotheses about how intimacy, relational uncertainty, and interference and facilitation from partners predict people’s experience of negative emotion. We test our hypotheses using data from a self‐report, cross‐sectional study of 525 individuals involved in dating relationships. Results indicated that intimacy shared very small convex curvilinear associations with anger, sadness, fear, and jealousy (H1). Relational uncertainty and interference from partners were positively correlated with negative emotion (H2, H3), and facilitation from partners was negatively correlated with negative emotion (H4). Also as expected, relational uncertainty and interference from partners mediated the association between intimacy and negative emotion (H5). We interpret how our findings shed light on people’s experience of negative emotion within courtship.     

Navigating relational turbulence in the wake of weight loss transitions: A support marshaling analysis

The current study sought to investigate how individuals optimize their partner's support during a weight transition to accomplish their weight loss goals. A theoretical model was tested to determine the role of support marshaling in managing the relational turbulence associated with weight transitions. Path modeling broadly identified that support marshaling is a useful framework from which to consider how relational turbulence associated with weight transitions influences health behaviors. The results identify that partner facilitation and interference are both directly related to health behaviors and indirectly related to health behaviors through support marshaling. Theoretical implications for relational turbulence and support marshaling are discussed with regard to their ability to account for weight‐related behavior changes.     

Operationalizing relational turbulence theory: Measurement and construct validation

This study assessed measures operationalizing concepts in relational turbulence theory (Solomon, Knobloch, Theiss, & McLaren, 2016). Studies of relational turbulence in marriage have used measures developed in research on dating couples; therefore, one goal was evaluating these variables in a general population sample of married individuals (N = 1,469). A second goal addressed problems in measures of relational uncertainty by assessing alternative scales. Third, associations between relational turbulence theory variables and measures of cognitive, emotional, and communicative phenomena were estimated. Fourth, the distinctiveness of relational turbulence measures relative to measures of other relational qualities was assessed. The conclusions advance new, Likert relational uncertainty scales and highlight the validity of relational turbulence constructs as distinctive predictors of cognitions, emotions, and communication.     

A statistical model for relational analysis

The diadic relationships existing in a group can be defined in terms of the members' choices, rejections, and their perceptions of being chosen and rejected. The number of possible distinct diads is 45. Formulas are given for computing the expected frequency and variance of the different diadic forms expected, when certain random factors are taken into account. These values must be known if the operation of factors other than the specified random ones is to be studied. Values obtained from two models with different assumptions are compared with empirical values. A simplified treatment is possible for groups with ten or more members.The present problem emerged from research undertaken as part of a project in interpersonal perception being carried out at the Laboratory of Social Relations at Harvard with the financial aid of the Office of Naval Research (Task Order N5ori-07646).     

A functional-analytic model of analogy: a relational frame analysis

The aim of this study was to explore a behavior-analytic model of analogical reasoning, defined as the discrimination of formal similarity via equivalence-equivalence responding. In Experiment 1, adult humans were trained and tested for the formation of four three-member equivalence relations: A1-B1-C1, A2-B2-C2, A3-B3-C3, and A4-B4-C4. The B and C stimuli were three-letter nonsense syllables, and the A stimulus was a colored shape. Subjects were then successfully tested for equivalence-equivalence responding (e.g., matching B1/C1 to B2/C2 rather than B3/C4). These tasks were designed such that equivalence-equivalence responding might allow subjects to discriminate a physical similarity between the relations involved. Some participants (color subjects) received only equivalence-equivalence tasks in which they might discriminate a color relation, whereas others (shape subjects) were given tasks in which they might discriminate a shape relation. A control group received both types of task. In a subsequent test for the discrimination of formal similarity, color subjects matched according to color, shape subjects matched according to shape, and the control group showed no consistent matching pattern. In Experiment 2, adult humans showed a transformation of the functions of a block-sorting task via this basic model of analogy. Empirical and conceptual issues related to these results are discussed.     

Perceived and actual characteristics of parents and partners: A test of a freudian model of mate selection

The present research examined the psychoanalytic theory of mate selection (Freud, 1927) which proposes that people choose romantic partners similar to their oppositesex parents (Epstein & Guttman, 1984). This phenomenon was addressed as both an actual phenomenon that guides partner choice and as a perceived phenomenon regarding people's conceptualizations of their parents and partners. Participants were asked to describe their parents, significant others, and ideal significant others in terms of several personality characteristics. Also, actual parents and partners of subjects described themselves. For four of eight personality variables, subjects' opposite-sex parents scored similarly to their partners. Also, subjects perceived their significant others as similar to their parents across all variables. Relationship satisfaction was significantly related to the degree to which participants perceive similarity between their parents and partners. Implications for understanding how people's parents influence both actual mate selection and romantic partner perception are discussed. The author expresses his gratitude to the institutions of the University of New Hampshire and Western Oregon University for supporting this research. Additionally, the author expresses his sincere appreciation for the help of the following individuals who all contributed to this research in some way: Rebecca Warner, Kathleen Bauman, Nicole (Nikki) Stoecker, Sara Elizabeth Kay Hubbard, Tracy Beckel, Becky Briggs, Jennifer Palmacci, Cortney Ravenscroft, Allison Schermerhorn, Gregory Tetrault, Vicki Banyard, Kathleen McCartney, Jack Lannamann, and Sally Ward.     

Perceived and actual characteristics of parents and partners: A test of a freudian model of mate selection

The present research examined the psychoanalytic theory of mate selection (Freud, 1927) which proposes that people choose romantic partners similar to their oppositesex parents (Epstein & Guttman, 1984). This phenomenon was addressed as both an actual phenomenon that guides partner choice and as a perceived phenomenon regarding people's conceptualizations of their parents and partners. Participants were asked to describe their parents, significant others, and ideal significant others in terms of several personality characteristics. Also, actual parents and partners of subjects described themselves. For four of eight personality variables, subjects' opposite-sex parents scored similarly to their partners. Also, subjects perceived their significant others as similar to their parents across all variables. Relationship satisfaction was significantly related to the degree to which participants perceive similarity between their parents and partners. Implications for understanding how people's parents influence both actual mate selection and romantic partner perception are discussed. The author expresses his gratitude to the institutions of the University of New Hampshire and Western Oregon University for supporting this research. Additionally, the author expresses his sincere appreciation for the help of the following individuals who all contributed to this research in some way: Rebecca Warner, Kathleen Bauman, Nicole (Nikki) Stoecker, Sara Elizabeth Kay Hubbard, Tracy Beckel, Becky Briggs, Jennifer Palmacci, Cortney Ravenscroft, Allison Schermerhorn, Gregory Tetrault, Vicki Banyard, Kathleen McCartney, Jack Lannamann, and Sally Ward.     

Perceived mattering in stepfamilies: A social relations model analysis

The current study examined the respective role of stepfamily members' individual characteristics and their dyadic relationships in stepfamily members' perceptions of mattering to one another. Parents, stepparents, and adolescents from 86 stepfamilies participated. Applying social relations model analyses, several trends emerged regarding the relative importance of individual and dyadic factors. Parents' and adolescents' reports of mattering to one another were mainly driven by individual factors, whereas relational factors were important to understand the reports of mattering in which the stepparent was one of the dyad members. These findings contribute to stepfamily research by highlighting that stepfamily members' sense of belonging is at least partly a function of the interpersonal adaptation between the stepparent and other family members.     

Career adaptability and proactive work behaviour: A relational model

Research on career adaptability has found that it helps people adapt at work. However, in modern uncertain and dynamic work environment, people need to perform proactive work behaviour to ensure individual effectiveness. Thus, to understand how career adaptability advances career development, it is necessary to examine its influences on proactive work behaviour. Adopting a relational perceptive, the current paper proposed leader-member exchange and perceived coworker support as the mediators and future work self salience as a moderator. Data were collected with a three-wave design in China. Findings largely supported the propositions, albeit showing partial mediation effects. This study extends existing understandings of the role of career adaptability at work, provides a new perspective about why it influences work-related outcomes and enriches the knowledge about the antecedents of proactive work behaviour.     

Perceived control and posttraumatic stress: A temporal model

In this article we present a temporal model for understanding the relations between perceived control and posttraumatic distress. Although perceived control generally is seen as adaptive, a review of the research using a temporal framework reveals that the relations between different types of control and distress vary greatly. Specifically, present and future control tend to be associated with better adjustment and fewer posttraumatic stress disoorder (PTSD) symptoms, whereas past control tends to be unrelated to distress or associated with more distress. Following this review, we outline an agenda for future research on past, future, and present control and posttraumatic distress using our temporal framework and discuss general methodological issues that need to be addressed in future research.     

Perceived control and distress following sexual assault: a longitudinal test of a new model

Longitudinal data were collected from female sexual assault survivors (N = 171) at 4 points postassault. Consistent with the predictions of the temporal model (P. Frazier, M. Berman, & J. Steward, 2002), past, present, and future control were differentially related to posttrauma distress. Both personal past (behavioral self-blame) and vicarious past (rapist blame) control were associated with higher distress levels. In addition, the belief that future assaults are less likely was more strongly associated with lower distress levels than was future control. Present control (i.e., control over the recovery process) was most adaptive. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that changes in perceived control were associated with changes in distress after linear change in distress over time was accounted for.     

An investigation of relational turbulence and depressive symptoms in newly married women

This study uses the relational turbulence model to examine depressive symptoms in newly married women. It reports data from a pre‐/posttest study in which 152 women completed an online survey during their engagement and 6 months after their wedding. Nearly 12% of the women reported reliable and clinically meaningful increases in depressive symptoms after their wedding. Using panel data analysis, this study found that increases in self uncertainty, partner uncertainty, and relationship uncertainty as well as in partner interference were associated with increases in depressive symptoms. This novel test of the relational turbulence model examined the impact of change in (rather than level of) relational turbulence, and the findings extend previous work by demonstrating how mechanisms of relational turbulence impact mental health.     

A socio-emotional relational framework for infidelity: the relational justice approach

Current clinical models for addressing infidelity tend not to make social context issues a central focus; yet, societal gender and power structures, such as female responsibility for relationships and limited male vulnerability, affect the etiology of affairs and create power imbalances in intimate relationships. How therapists respond to these societal influences may either limit or enhance the mutual healing of both persons in the relationship. Thus attention to these societal processes is an ethical issue. This paper presents one perspective, the Relational Justice Approach, for working with infidelity. It places gender, power, and culture at the center of intervention in couple therapy, and includes three stages: (1) creating an equitable foundation for healing, (2) placing the infidelity in a societal context, and (3) practicing mutuality. Each stage is illustrated with case examples and contrasted with current practice regarding infidelity.     

A model for counselor-student-teacher involvement

School counselors need to adopt some new supplementary roles in order to get more involved in the classroom learning situation. The Inquiry Role Approach (IRA) offers such a program for counselor involvement. The IRA establishes teams of students who work with the counselor and the teacher in the regular classroom. Individual referrals to the counselor are accepted as part of the classroom routine. Preliminary evaluation of the program suggests that certain attitudes and social skills are enhanced, and the counselors benefit by dealing directly with more students in a classroom situation.     

Perceived social structural relations and group stereotypes: A test of the Stereotype Content Model in Malaysia

Using data from two studies, the current research tests the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) within a Malaysian context using Chinese and ethnic Malay participants. The aim of the research is to examine the theoretical underpinnings of the SCM in a new context by investigating the role of aspects of the perceived social structure that have not been considered previously. In line with the SCM it is found that the two dimensions of warmth and competence underlie in‐group and out‐group stereotypes in Malaysia. In addition, the in‐group was evaluated more positively than the out‐group on both dimensions. Furthermore, perceived economic social status rather than cultural or power status was related to out‐group competence (Study 1), and to out‐group warmth (Studies 1 and 2). Higher perceived economic competition was weakly and not consistently associated with less out‐group warmth, and political competition was not related to warmth.     

Perceived group identity of outgroup members and anticipated rejection: People think that strongly identified group members reject non‐group members

Many studies of intergroup relations have examined the effects of group identity on various types of intergroup cognition and behavior. However, few studies have focused on the perceived group identity of outgroup members. This study examined the effects of perceptions of outgroup identity on anticipated rejection by an outgroup. In Study 1, we administered a questionnaire pertaining to 30 social groups to Japanese undergraduate and vocational students. The collective images and intra‐individual processes relating to perceived outgroup identity were investigated by applying correlation analysis and multilevel structural equation modeling. In Study 2, we conducted an experiment in which we manipulated the participants' perceptions of relative levels of outgroup members' identity. Both studies demonstrated, as predicted, that people anticipated rejection by strongly identified outgroup members more than by weakly identified outgroup members. Furthermore, in Study 2, anticipated same‐group favoritism mediated the relationship between the manipulation of perceived outgroup identity and anticipated rejection. These findings suggest the important role of perceived outgroup identity in intergroup cognition.     

A relational model of inquiry and truth: The place of psychoanalysis in human conversation

A challenge is offered to the characterization of psychoanalysis as suffering from potentially fatal epistemic flaws and needing to ground itself in the language of hermeneutics, neuropsychology, or infant observation in order to survive. Psychoanalytic truth is neither made up nor discovered. Psychoanalytic propositions are true in the important sense of being the most useful statements we can make right now about the nature and functioning of the human unconscious. Psychoanalytic theories evolve through rational critical discourse just as theories evolve in all fields of science and scholarship.