When love is not blind: Rumination impairs implicit affect regulation in response to romantic relationship threat

The present research examined how rumination influences implicit affect regulation in response to romantic relationship threat. In three studies, the disposition to ruminate impaired the ability to maintain positive feelings about the romantic partner in the face of explicit or implicit reminders of relationship threatening events. In Study 1, a high disposition to ruminate was correlated with impaired down-regulation of negative feelings toward the partner in response to a hurtful relationship incident. Two follow-up studies manipulated relationship threat explicitly through an experiential recall procedure (Study 2) or implicitly through a subliminal evaluative-conditioning procedure (Study 3). In both studies only individuals with low disposition to ruminate were able to ward off negative feelings and maintain positive feelings toward the partner. These findings illuminate the role of implicit affect regulation in the context of relationship threat—and how it is inextricably connected with the processes underlying rumination.     

Prosocial norm violations fuel power affordance

The question of what makes people rise to power has long puzzled social scientists. Here we examined the novel hypothesis that power is afforded to individuals who exhibit prosocial norm violations—i.e., breaking rules for the benefit of others. Three experiments using different methods provide support for this idea. Individuals who deliberately ignored a prohibition to tilt a bus chair (Study 1; scenario) or to close a window (Study 2; film clip) were afforded more power than individuals who obeyed the rules, but only when the norm violation benefited others (i.e., by giving them more leg space or fresh air). Study 2 further showed that this effect was mediated by perceived social engagement, which was highest among prosocial norm violators. In Study 3 (face-to-face), a confederate who stole coffee from the experimenter's desk was afforded more power than a confederate who took coffee upon invitation, but only when he also offered coffee to the participant. We discuss implications for hierarchy formation, morality, and social engagement.     

Flashbulb memories in social groups: A comparative test–retest study of the memory of French President Mitterrand's death in a French and a Belgian group

Flashbulb memories are vivid and long-lasting memories for the reception context of an important public event (Brown & Kulik, 1977). They are assumed to be triggered by emotional factors (i.e., intensity of emotional feeling, appraisal of the original event) and by social factors (i.e., social sharing of the news, following media debate about the event). The present study investigated the memory for the death of the former President of France F. Mitterrand in two social groups, i.e., French and Belgian people. This study tests whether the flashbulb memory attributes, the memory for the original event, and the impact of the emotional and social determinants of flashbulb memory differed across groups. The results indicated that the flashbulb memory for Mitterrand's death is affected by group provenance, as French people showed higher levels of recall for the flashbulb memory attributes and their determinants than Belgian people. Time impaired recollections in both groups, so that flashbulb memories appear prone to decay and share the same destiny as ordinary memories. The theoretical construct of concern - as the most basic antecedent of emotional experiences and its related appraisal (Frijda, 1994) - is discussed in order to explain the differences in memory of the two social groups.     

Regulatory focus and the Michelangelo Phenomenon: How close partners promote one another's ideal selves

This work examines the consequences of regulatory focus in the context of the Michelangelo phenomenon, a process whereby interaction partners shape one another's goal pursuits. We advanced predictions regarding the intrapersonal and interpersonal consequences of target and partner promotion orientation using the concepts of target-goal congruence, partner-goal congruence, and interpersonal match. We used data from four complementary measurement methods—self-report questionnaires, daily diary records, partners' ratings of ideal-relevant interaction behaviors, and coders' ratings of interaction behaviors—and using both target- and partner-reports of model criteria. Consistent with predictions, (a) target promotion orientation is associated with the elicitation of partner affirmation, (b) partner promotion orientation is associated with the display of partner affirmation, and (c) partner affirmation partially mediates the associations of target and partner promotion orientation with target movement toward the ideal self. We also examine the motivational, cognitive, and behavioral mechanisms that account for these associations.     

Stereotypes and Personalities of Musicians

Folk fiddle players and Salvation Army brass band members completed the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI; H. J. Eysenck & S. B. G. Eysenck; 1964) and a questionnaire concerning their opinions about the personality characteristics of orchestral violinists, orchestral brass players, folk fiddlers, and Salvation Army brass band members. The EPI scores of the 2 groups showed a greater neuroticism among string players but not the greater extraversion of brass players found in previous studies on the personalities of musicians. Although participants' views about the personality characteristics of orchestral brass players and orchestral violinists echoed those found in previous research, their views on the Salvation Army (as brass players) and on folk fiddlers (as string players) did not. Results of this study showed that personality differences or stereotypes among musicians are probably determined more by the history and traditions of the group in which they are perceived to be involved than by the instruments they play.     

The order effect in self–other predictions: considering target as a moderator

Two factors known to affect the use of self in social prediction, target similarity and order of predictions, are considered in concert to understand how the use of self varies across the prediction of different targets. Replicating earlier studies, we predicted and found that people use the self more when predicting similar others than when predicting dissimilar others. Extending existing studies, we predicted and found order effects for similar others. As predicted no order effects emerged for predictions for dissimilar targets. Because the self is more accessible during the prediction of similar others, it matters whether self‐predictions precede or follow other‐predictions. Feature‐matching theory is proposed as a possible explanation for the emergence of order effects in predictions of similar targets. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Illusions of Parental Control: Parenting and Smoking Onset in Dutch and Swedish Adolescents1

Parental control is assumed to be associated with smoking onset: Parents who exert control on their children and monitor their children's behavior are less likely to have children who start to smoke. However, the empirical evidence for this assumption is mostly from cross‐sectional studies. The present research examined the prospective associations between parental control and smoking onset among Dutch and Swedish adolescents and their parents. Findings revealed nonsignificant links between general parental control and smoking onset in both samples, and no link between smoking‐specific parental control and smoking onset in the Dutch sample, thereby questioning the assumption that parental control prevents adolescent smoking onset.     

Toward understanding understanding: The importance of feeling understood in relationships

People want to be understood by others, yet their perceptions of being understood are only modestly related to actually being understood by others. In this article, we provide an integrative theoretical model and review of research on the processes that contribute to feeling understood and misunderstood by others. The model highlights situational, dispositional, and relational factors that influence feeling understood and underscores the importance of feeling understood for relationship and personal well‐being. We also clarify definitional and measurement issues that have impeded progress in prior research.     

Maintaining close relationships: gratitude as a motivator and a detector of maintenance behavior

This research examined the dual function of gratitude for relationship maintenance in close relationships. In a longitudinal study among married couples, the authors tested the dyadic effects of gratitude over three time points for approximately 4 years following marriage. They found that feelings of gratitude toward a partner stem from the partner's relationship maintenance behaviors, partly because such behaviors create the perception of responsiveness to one's needs. In turn, gratitude motivates partners to engage in relationship maintenance. Hence, the present model emphasizes that gratitude between close partners (a) originates from partners' relationship maintenance behaviors and the perception of a partner's responsiveness and (b) promotes a partner's reciprocal maintenance behaviors. Thus, the authors' findings add credence to their model, in that gratitude contributes to a reciprocal process of relationship maintenance, whereby each partner's maintenance behaviors, perceptions of responsiveness, and feelings of gratitude feed back on and influence the other's behaviors, perceptions, and feelings.